Unforgiven
by shadowsythe22
Summary: in equestria humans and ponies coexist peacefully. both societies intermingle and benefit each other, we have given them technology and that have given us the help of magic. everybody loves one another... except for Zachary Miles. everybody, pony and man alike hate his guts for certain reasons... but it's not his fault. can he manage to pull his life together?
1. Loneliness

In the magical land of equestria, where ponies run and frolic and have fun. Where all is peaceful and calm. But ponies are not the only things that run and frolic in this magical world. There are, as well… humans! Yes… humans and ponies coexist in this magical world. Though we humans have technology and ingenuity the ponies remain above us with their use of magic. Though it may seem that we would be warring over this land humans and ponies co exist in perfect harmony. There are no hate crimes, there are no racist acts of war or difference… we live peacefully. Our children grow up and go to the same schools. We work the same jobs. Humans are better at some things than ponies just as ponies can do other things better than humans. Yes… all the humans and ponies live peacefully with each other.

…but then there's me

I don't know if it's rotten luck or…or…whatever, but people and ponies just don't seem to enjoy my company. I've always been alone, I don't have friends. I live in a shitty one bedroom apartment in the slums of ponyville. I work at a low cut job behind the counter of a corner store. I'm not even the best looking guy around either with perfect health. I smoke often but it isn't much of a problem for me… but others just seem disgusted by it for some reason. I even saw one woman sneer at me for smoking then she proceeded to take out a cigarette and smoke it with her four year old daughter with her. But there might be a reason why people don't enjoy my company so much… it's uh… complicated.

See, my existence is a… interesting one. See humans and ponies get together well… sometimes a bit too well. Which is where my special case comes in. my mother was human…but… my dad was a unicorn. They were the first… EVER. There hasn't been another account of this ever really happening but… well… here I am…somehow. They said that my birth was some kind of freak miracle and that scientifically speaking I shouldn't be allowed to exist. You could only imagine that the news caught onto this quickly and frankly gossip travels faster than the speed of light. So… I was, at birth, officially labeled a freak of nature. Come to think about it… I'm pretty sure that's why people and ponies alike hate me.

Ponies and humans get along well. Our children go to the same school. We all work at the same places. And people and ponies hate me equally. That's my sad existence right there… not much to think of it. But I'll show them all. I'll show them what this freak of nature can do. They'll see, I'll get a good paying job, a beautiful wife and I'll have a few wonderful children. And all this shit about being a freak will go away. Normally news dies down after a while, but my story is still going strong and I don't think it'll ever die really. I'm already 21 and people and ponies alike still hate my guts. I don't really understand why, I mean… I'm not some kind of… half human…half horse freak. Well I guess I am… but not physically. I'm just a regular guy. No hooves, just hands. No horn on my head or brightly colored hair. I'm an average guy. I weigh 160 pounds; I'm a lightweight weakling with greasy black hair and a scratchy shave.

Today was a normal day just like any other. I got up to the sound of my alarm clock ringing right next to the bed. Throwing my hand out and slamming down on that thing has now become something like a natural reaction. I hate the sound of my digital clock going off. Even when I hear something like it on TV or whatever, it makes me cringe. I moaned and lazily threw the sheets off of me and climbed out of bed wearing nothing but my plaid boxers. I quickly threw on a pair of jeans laying on the ground and a stained white T-shirt. I grabbed my black hoodie and threw it on since it was starting to get colder out now. I grabbed my pack of cigarettes and my lighter and had a quick smoke. I opened up the window of my second floor, one bedroom apartment. I lit the cig and took a deep breath. I let out a sigh and smoke shot from my mouth. I quickly finished my cigarette and threw it out the window into the snow.

I went into the kitchen only to get to the door and leave. I didn't have time for breakfast so I just skipped it. I have to walk to work today. I wish I could live in the city so I could drive a car. Sine these small town like ponyville are so small the princess doesn't allow motor vehicles to run around these places. It's whatever though… I don't mind walking around, but it would still be nice if I could at least fly like one of the pegasi. I exited my apartment and closed the door behind me. I locked it shut and threw the key into my pants pocket. I made my way across the hallway and down the stairs to the ground. I threw my hoodie over my head to keep my ears warm and started making my way to the street before a voice stopped me.

"Oh… good morning Zachary." Said a sweet voice from behind me. I looked back to see an elderly mare in the windowsill placing a pie down to let it cool.

"Good morning." I said waving and giving her a smile. I turned around and started making my way to the street. That was old lady grey. Her actual name is lady grey, but now she's gotten old. She lives there all by herself since her husband had died a few years back, before I moved in. she's the only pony… actual, she's the only living being, that isn't my mother or father, who has shown me actual kindness. I often talk to her and she makes all kinds of food that she gives me. I count her as being the only real friend that I've ever had… which is pathetic really. Even though she's old and alone she's still a sweet old mare and I enjoy her company, in fact I just enjoy the pleasant conversations we have.

It doesn't take me too long to get to my job. It a small store on the corner of Hay Street. It's just a general convenience store. We sell everything there but it is a pretty lousy part of town. The manager is a human like me, a guy… but he's a douche bag…so yeah. He's paranoid of somepony breaking into here and stealing his shit… even though that kind of stuff doesn't happen in this town often. He is from the city though… so he's paranoid. He keeps a shotgun behind the counter and even told me to get a knife for self defense… he threatened to fire me if I didn't. I ended up getting one at a flea market for like ten bits. I've gotten kinda attached to the thing, so I keep it in the back pocket of my jeans. When I got to work the other employee there was already getting in. she's a Pegasus mare, her name is blue moon. She's very friendly to the customers' and the manager and all that shit… but she hates my guts, which is okay since I hate that bitch too. As I walked into the door she put on a fake smile thinking I was a customer but once she saw it was me the smile faded and she began her usual hazing, it's like tradition now. There weren't any customers in this early so it was alright… and the manager is never here so whenever the coast is clear she constantly nags and bothers me.

"Oh great… it's you." She said scowling at me. I just brushed her off and went over to the stores coffee machine and started making myself a cup of coffee for the morning. "You can't just drink that you know."

"Well no shit… I'm going to pay for it." I said. I finished my coffee and paid for it. I took my place behind the counter right next to blue moon and she just snarled and looked away as I drank from my Styrofoam cup of coffee.

"Ugh… your disgusting, do you know that?" she asked.

"Yeah…" I said blatantly.

"I mean… look at you. Your clothes are all stained and worn out. Your face is all scratchy… I mean, do you shave with a pair of scissors or something?" she said. She loves to make fun of me, and it's not even because I'm half unicorn and half human… she just hates my general existence. "You need to seriously clean your clothes… they're gross."

"Says the pony who doesn't even wear clothing." I said taking another sip of my coffee.

"That's only because our junk doesn't just hang out there like you humans." She said getting a bit louder now. The things she says don't even reach me anymore. "God it's like you don't even care anymore, you could at least take my advice." She said.

"Honestly… I don't care." I said. "Just keep yapping… maybe the hot air seeming from your head will warm up the store." I said. If she wasn't mad before she was now.

"I… I can't believe you just said that." she said. She can deal out the punches but she can't take them. Honestly I wanted to say a few things that were far worse than that… but I've given up on fighting others. I don't even know why I let her talk me down when she's only two thirds my size. She started going off at me again but I just brushed her off as usual and continued about my day. she continued on the subject about me being a dirty human for a while but I just rolled my eyes and drank my coffee until the first customer came in which is when she stopped talking to me entirely… the silence was nice actually, but it didn't last long.

Soon enough the store began to get busy and I stayed behind the counter the whole time. Customers came rolling in one by one and I put on a good fake smile and helped them with what they need, but they didn't even give me a passing glance. Like I said before… humans and ponies get along and do everything together. They all hate me equally… especially moon. She hates my guts worth ten ponies and ten humans. It's good that I only had the early shift today and I got out at four. As I left the other guy who works the evening shift came in. he didn't even look at me but I can only imagine the things blue moon tells him. he was a male earth pony, but I don't really know his name… and I don't care. I was on my way out when a familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.

"Hey… Zach…hold up." Said a male voice from behind. I turned around to see that it was my boss mike smith.

"Oh uh… good morning Mr. Smith." I said.

"Here Zach… take this." He said handing me a manila envelope. I grabbed it and it was somewhat thick.

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a raise… you earned It." he said. Just hearing the words 'raise' made this the best day ever.

"Oh thank you Mr. Smith." I said gratefully.

"Yeah whatever, just get out of here and go." He said. I did just so and started walking off into town with my new wad of cash. Ever since the humans came to this world the monetary system switched over to our own which was much easier and efficient, but we still call them bits. I opened up the envelope and counted the money in it. There was over a thousand bits in there. I guess I should head to the bank and make a deposit. I started walking down the street with the thought of going to the bank in mind when my stomach started to growl at me. I did skip breakfast this morning… and I had a light lunch… I'm hungry.

I started heading my way into the nicer part of town and eventually made my way into the shopping district. I looked around at all the people and ponies walking around with smiles on their faces. I started seeing all the food and started to get hungry. My stomach once again growled at me but I was also getting tired. Standing behind a counter all day is murder on my feet. I spotted a nearby bench right outside of Ponyville Park and sat down. I pulled out my cigarettes and the lighter and had myself a quick smoke. I sat there and smoked my cigarette for a few minutes while people and ponies alike walked by and sometimes gave me a chilling look. I never thought I would be this famous, in all my life.

That's me… Zachary miles, the kid with the fucked up parents. Everyone in ponyville knows me by face and name. It's kinda depressing, but I'm used to the dirty looks and the hazing. When I was in school the jocks and the nerds would make peace just to beat the shit out of me. I can't say that it has completely ruined my life though… it's made me strong. My mom and dad wanted to move to a different town or a city… but you can't run form something like this, so we stayed. There haven't been any direct attacks on my family, thank god… just me. I don't care what happens to me, as long as my parents are alright then that's enough for me. It doesn't matter what happens to me, I've gotten used to my lonely life living in a one bedroom apartment with a shit job. That's the story of my life.

Though… it wouldn't hurt to have just one friend.

-Authors Note: yet another new story... yeah, guys i know. how am i supposed to be focusing on reborn with all these new stories... dont worry, ive got that figured out. anyway, i really like the idea for this one and i hope you guuys enjoy it... blah blah blah. I'm going to be working on this one and reborn more often than the others but i might quickly finish up last aid just to get it out of the way and add it to the complete pile. so... tell me what you think about it and let me know if you have any ideas or comments, be sure to leave a review and I'll catch you guys later.

stay shady...


	2. I Dont Need Friends

I finished my cigarette and tossed on the ground. I got up and started making my way around. I started looking around at all the stores and shops wondering where I could go to get some food. I was starving right now and it's been so long since I've had a decent meal. I don't really know where to go since I don't go out to eat that often so I don't know what places are good and what they serve. I ended up walking around for a while looking around with my hands in my pockets. I checked my cheap digital watch and saw that it was only half past four. I heard a bit of laughter around me and looked around but saw nothing. I then looked up to see two pegasi kids playing tag and flying around the sky. Just then an older Pegasus pony with rainbow hair streamed through the air and the two kids stopped to watch her zoom by as she left a rainbow trail behind her.

If I wasn't mistaken that must have been the ever somewhat famous rainbow dash. I believe she's one of the elements of harmony too. I don't really know many of them, I think one of them is a farm girl and two of them are unicorns… I don't know much about them, they're kind of a new thing. I remember when discord came to town and they had to save everybody's asses… through the chaos was hell it was a turn from the normal… that's pretty much the only thing that happened really, other than that the towns always so quiet and peaceful.

As I watched the pegasi racing through the sky I got careless and didn't watch where I was going, so I tripped. Naturally I put my hands in front of me to break the fall, but my hands were in my pockets so by the time I got them out I had already fallen on my face. I let out a moan as I pulled myself up and looked back to see what I had tripped on. It was to my surprise that I didn't trip on something, but someone… more specifically somepony. I was lying right on top of a purple pony with saddlebags. I quickly scurried off of her and saw she was a unicorn. She crawled up to her hooves and rubbed her head as I stood up and dusted myself off.

"I'm so sorry ma'am… I wasn't looking where I was going." I said. I was waiting for her to scold me and call me names and other things.

"No, it's my fault…" she said. "With somepony as big as you I should have seen it coming, I'm sorry." She said.

…wait… what?

"Are you alright?" she asked. "Oh, you cut your face…" she said putting her hoof to a part of my face. It did hurt a bit. I put my fingers to the spot that was hurting and pulled them back. When I saw then they had a bit of blood on them. I wasn't concerned about that right now. What was concerning me was the fact that she was being nice to me… that doesn't happen to me… ever. The only people that have been nice to me are my parents and old lady grey… my boss doesn't intentionally pick on me… but as I've said before… he's a douche bag. I know it sounds kinda pathetic that I'm not used to other being nice to me. I feel a bit awkward and shy now… I don't really know what to say. "Oh here let me help with that." she said as her horn began to glow. A small tissue levitated from her pouch and she wiped the blood from my face and threw the tissue away.

"Uh… thank you." I said awkwardly putting my hand to my face. It was still bleeding a little; I must have fallen on a small piece of glass or something.

"My name is twilight sparkle… I work at the library on Oak Street. What's your name?"

"m-my… name?" I stammered idiotically. I'm now just realizing how socially deprived I am. Twilight just giggled and blushed which made me realize I was turning red as well.

"Yes… your name… what is it?" she asked again.

"I'm uh… Zachary Miles." I said.

"Oh I've heard about you…" she said. She seemed strangely excited instead of disgusted like normal people.

"You're going to make fun of me now aren't you?" I said blatantly. "Go ahead, bring on the insults… I'm used to it by now." I said.

"I'm not going to make fun of you." Said twilight.

"Wait, what?" I said curiously and with a good deal of surprise. "You… you do know who I am right, you've heard my story." I said.

"No… not really." Said twilight. "Your name just comes up a lot in some of the gossip I hear… nopony seems to have anything nice to say about you… why?" she asked.

"What…? Do you like… live under a rock or something?"

"No, I don't live under a rock… I do live in a tree though." She said. "But anyway, why did you ask me if I was going to make fun of you… why would I do that, I don't really even know you… I mean you seem nice."

"Well, usually, everybody makes fun of me, or just generally ignores me…" I said.

"Why would they do that?" she asked.

"It's… not an easy thing to explain." I said. I tried thinking about an easy way to approach this but there really wasn't any subtle way of doing it. "Alright… let's see… uhm, have you ever heard anything about a woman and a stallion getting married?" I asked.

"No… why, has that actually happened?" she asked with enthusiasm. She was obviously interested in the topic.

"Well… yes, it has. In this very town actually." I said rubbing the back of my head in embarrassment.

"That's amazing… do you know who they are?" she asked excitedly. "And what do they have to do with everypony making fun of you?"She asked.

"Well their names are Madison Miles, and Grey Horn… they… are, my parents." I said as my face started to turn red with embarrassment. "And I am their genetic son…" I said. Twilight just looked up to me dumbfounded.

"That…is… AMAZING!" she shouted out. She managed to catch the attention of everybody and everypony walking around and they looked over at us, they stared in curiosity but then glared at me. I feel like I know what they're thinking.

"twilight… what in tarnation do ya think yer doin'?" said a voice form the side. I looked over to see a southern looking pony with a cowboy hat walk over to us. She was also with a rainbow maned Pegasus too.

"Yeah, whadya doing hanging around this freak." Snapped the rainbow pony.

"Are these your friends?" I asked looking over to twilight.

"Yeah…but."

"I should have known." I said cutting her off. "it was all some kind of sick fucking joke… wasn't it." I said getting angry.

"No… no it wasn't." said twilight.

"Whatever… I don't fucking need this… I'm going home." I said putting my hands back in my pockets and walking off.

"Yeah get outa here you freak." Said the rainbow pony as I walked away. I kept on my way and just walked on, not looking back, and not caring. It did sting a little, I kinda did have hope that somepony would have been my friend… I should have known better. From now on, I'm not going to talk to anybody, not going to look at them, I'm not even going to acknowledge their general existence. If they don't want me to exist, then I'll give them what they want. From now on I'm going to be a ghost, nobody will even know I exist. And we'll all be happy.

That's the same thought I kept in my head for the entire day. I went home closed, and locked the door and sat down on my couch. I watched TV for an hour or so before I got hungry. I wasn't rich as you can tell, and I can't cook to save my life. So I opened up my freezer and pulled out a microwave dinner. I opened it up put it in the microwave for a few minutes and when it was done I pulled it out. I let it sit for a minute or two to cool down and then started digging in. it wasn't the best food, I'm sure, but it was good enough. I snarfed down my food and spent the rest of the day watching TV. I spent a good half an hour channel surfing before I came to the conclusion that there wasn't anything good on. I shut off the TV and looked out the window. It was getting late; I guess I should get ready for bed.

My end of the day routine consists of smoking a cigarette and taking a shower, so that's what I did. I cracked the window open and sat on the window sill as I placed the cigarette in my mouth and lit the end of it. I looked out to the bright stars and the lights shining through the windows of other peoples and ponies homes. When I finished the cigarette I tossed the filter out of the window and into the snow. I closed the window and wandered over to the bathroom. I walked in and used the toilet before jumping into the shower. I stripped down naked and walked right into the shower. I turned it on and adjusted the water to the temperature I like. Once that was done I just stood there and soaked in the water, I didn't really wash myself… I just soaked and thought about my life. It's a good thing mom and dad moved to manehattan so they don't have to see me like this.

Once I was done with my shower I got out and grabbed a towel hanging up near the sink. I dried myself off and wrapped the towel around my waist. I walked out of the bathroom and turned the light off. I turned the lights off in my apartment and walked into my bedroom. I turned the light on and took my towel off. I threw it to the ground and let it lie there. I grabbed a pair of boxers off the ground and put them on. I turned off the light and jumped into bed. I pulled the comforter over myself and rested my head on the pillow. My hair was still damp so I turned around in my bed a lot trying to get comfortable. Once I was finally comfortable I closed my eyes and started to drift away to sleep. I didn't have any spectacular dreams, and by the time I woke up the next morning to my alarm clock buzzing I had completely forgotten it all. I quickly slammed the snooze button and groggily picked myself up out of the bed. I turned off the alarm and reset it so I don't have to worry about resetting it for the rest of the day.

I sat on my bed and let out a yawn as I stretched my arms. I walked over to my dresser and picked out a fresh pair of clothes for the day. I put them on and then walked out of my room. I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth to begin the day. I grabbed the clothes and my hoodie which I left on the floor of the bathroom yesterday after I took a shower. I threw my clothes into my room but put on my hoodie. I walked into my kitchen where the exit of my apartment was and left through the door. I locked the door behind me and tossed my keys into my pocket. I walked down the hallway and down the stairs to the outside of the apartment. I looked back to see if old lady grey was there to talk to me this morning but she wasn't, I didn't mind so much. I still remember the promise I made to myself from yesterday after I met that one unicorn on the street.

So I made my way to work with anger in my heart and a sullen look in my eyes. I wasn't angry at myself, because I haven't done anything wrong, I tried to be normal. I'm angry at the world for not accepting me, for casting me out and calling me 'freak'. I've been called so 'freak' so many times that I cringe at the word… I hate it, with a burning passion. I slowly started to make my way to work and soon it came into view. I let out a sigh as I saw my breath blow through the air and walked up to the entrance. I walked in and opened the door which sounded off a small bell attached to the door. Blue moon looked over to me and put on her smile, like always but as soon as she saw me the hazing began instantly.

"Oh, it's just you…" she said.

"You wear that fake smile pretty well." I said sarcastically complimenting her. I walked over to the counter and took my spot behind it.

"What... no coffee today?" she asked.

"Don't talk to me." I said.

"Yeah… whatever, it's not like I want to waste my time on you… freak!" she exclaimed at me. The word freak has dug so deep into my mind now that when she said it I could feel my head start to pound. The word echoed in my head and I started to get angry. For a few seconds images flashed through my head… they weren't pretty. I started thinking about beating up blue moon in my head, I even quickly worked out some kind of plan. It wasn't the nicest thing to flash through my head, but I often think violently when I get mad.

It would be easy for me to attack her. She doesn't have a horn so she can't use magic, and I'm obviously bigger and stronger than her. Even if she is a Pegasus pony, her wings can't help her inside, and I always keep a knife in the back pocket of my jeans… she wouldn't expect a thing. Of course… I could never bring myself to hurt anybody. I might get angry… but I'm a softy on the inside… I couldn't do it. I have gotten into fights in my life, but those were with bullies and scumbags, I never intended to hurt anyone without reason, just defend myself. And most of the time I would get the shit beaten out of me. But that doesn't mean I never fought back.

For the whole work day I stayed emotionally distant from everybody and everypony who walked in. whenever the coast was clear blue moon would say something to me or insult me. I just ignored her and kept to myself, which I can tell was driving her crazy. That bitch lives to watch me suffer. I assume it isn't any fun if I don't get mad or annoyed, so I could tell she was getting angry, because with every following insult she became more and more relentless. I kept rushing her off as customers came in and out of the store, so far it was a pretty average day. There weren't too many customers, but we made a decent amount of money today. I had to restock the shelves at one point but that isn't much of a bother. Once my shift was over I left the store and headed straight home. I walked down the cold winter streets and made my way to my apartment. I walked up the stairs and over to my door. I grabbed the key from my pocket and unlocked the door. I opened it up and walked in. I closed the door behind me and walked into my living room. It was 5:23, so I've still got plenty of time before the day ends.

It's not like I plan on doing anything productive with that time. I decided to head into my room and sit down at my desk. I opened up my laptop and started surfing the internet. I didn't do anything special. When I was typing an address into the search bar a link to facebook came up. I don't even know why I bothered to make an account. I made it twelve years ago when I was a stupid teenager. I only have two friends… mom and dad. I haven't even touched that account in ten or so years. Naturally I was doing what most people do when they're bored on the internet… watch YouTube videos. You probably thought I was going to masturbate or something… well I might later, blow off some steam. I got to the YouTube homepage when there was a knock at the door. I looked back and got up from my chair. I lazily sauntered my way over to the door. I walked up to the door and opened it and looked at who was knocking.

It was that purple unicorn from yesterday with a guilty smile on her face. it was a surprise to see her, but she was the last pony on the face of the whole world that I wanted to see right now… so I slammed the door in her face. I turned around and started walking back to my room hoping she would have just left… but she didn't. Once more there was another knock on the door. It made me stop for a second and I looked back at the door as she knocked once more.

"Please open up…" she said from the other side of the door. "I just want to talk… I don't want to make fun of you." She said.

"Go away…" I said walking up to the door so she could hear me.

"I'm sorry my friends might have hurt your feelings… but I'm not like that… can we please just talk?" she asked.

"No… we can't… I don't need you to comfort me and tell me that you're not the same… because you are." I said. "You're all the same… I don't need anybody, and I've never needed anybody to be my friend… I can do without you… now go away." I said. There was silence for a few moments, she didn't say anything and I stood there waiting for her to argue back. I could tell that she was still behind the door. After a while she finally said something.

"Alright… I'll go." She said in a miserable voice. "I'm sorry though… if I made you mad… I didn't mean it" she said. "If you ever want to talk, I live in the library on Oak Street… feel free to drop by whenever, it's a big tree, so you can't miss It." she said. I just stood there waiting for her to leave. "Well… bye, then… I guess." She said before I could hear steps leading away from my door. I knew that she was finally gone and I walked back to my room. I spent the rest of the day on my computer, just surfing the internet and doing… other things. When it started to get late I made myself dinner… microwave food again, and went straight to bed. I skipped the cigarette and the shower this night, which isn't normal, I always smoke a cigarette and take a soak in the shower every night. But I wasn't feeling right after I was done talking with that mare. I felt strange, deep inside… like I was going to be sick. I curled up in my bed and went to sleep. I woke up, the next morning to my alarm clock.

I punched the snooze button and woke up. I looked at the clock and over to the calendar. It was Sunday, I don't have work today… that's nice. I got up and yawned as I stretched my arms. I got out of my bed and put on some clothes. I put on my hoodie and walked into the living room. I opened up the window and sat on the edge as I smoked a cigarette. When I finished with that I walked into the kitchen and started making breakfast since I don't really eat it on the days I have work since I have to leave almost right away. I grabbed some cereal from out of the cupboard and a bowl. I poured some cereal into the bowl and then added a spoon. I opened the fridge in the quest to find milk… but there was none. So I ate my cereal dry, not as exciting… but it all tastes the same in the end I guess. Since I only really eat on Sundays and Thursdays, which are the days I don't have work, I don't go through cereal too quickly. This cereal was a bit stale… but I don't care, like I said… it all tastes the same.

I watched TV as I ate my cereal and just lazily sat on the couch. I should probably go out today, I hate interacting with others… but still, I like going to walks just to think and clear my head. I like to listen to music whenever I go for walks, but my headphones are busted, and I don't have the energy, or the willingness to spend money on new ones. I might eventually… but not today. Once I finished with my cereal in placed the dirty bowl and spoon on the table for me to worry about later and just kept watching TV. It wasn't long before I got bored of what was on, but had become too comfortable to bother moving. It wasn't long before my mind started to wander, just one thought linked somehow to the previous one. Then I started to think about yesterday… when that unicorn came over trying to apologize and I slammed the door in her face… and I started to feel sick.

I only just realized now that I was a bit of a douche yesterday… okay… I was a massive douche. I started thinking about how I could have done something differently. She was trying to be my friend… she genuinely was… but I shut her out… literally. I started to feel sick to my stomach. I felt inside a deep sense of mourning and regret. I think… I think I need to go and apologize to her, yeah. I feel like this could be my only real chance of having any kind of friend. And to a guy like me, that's pretty much like a second chance at life. This will be the first time in my life that I'll ever apologize to anybody or anypony. And not just a 'sorry I bumped into you' but a true sincere apology. I already feel nervous and anxious.

I just hope it all goes well…

-Authors Note: hey guys, here's the next installment of Unforgiven. I'm really glad you guys like this story, and if you dont... well that's your problem. anyway, i think i might go pretty far with this story, because like i said... i really like the idea of it. my main focus right now is on reborn and this story... but mostly reborn because i gotta get that shit done. so, make sure to leave a review... seriously...guys...seriously...leave a review. I'm not an attention whore, i dont want you posting a review telling me that i'm great, or that i did a good job... i usually skip right over those ones... they're boring. i want you guys to tell me if i did anything wrong, or what you would have liked to see instead, or even what you would like to see happen... I'm the freaking writer of the damn story... its not set in stone. if you guys want to see something i can make it happen. if you want to tell me something and dont want everybody to see it, then send me a PM... anything. I've got a lot of viewers out there, and only like 20 of you have bothered to message me recently. and if you've just here browsing or whatever GET AN ACCOUNT! DO IT FILLY!

seriously. its free, nobody is going to make you jump through fire or force you to give them your left kidney (well... they at least wont make you jump through fire). it's a good thing, there's nothing bad about it. you get your own account, you can post your own stories, join communities, and help out in said communities. you get to write PM your favorite authors and write reviews on your favorite stories. just freaking do it guys. and for those people out there who are reading this and you do have an account... but have nothing to say... that's fine... that's perfectly fine. all you guys are great... really. weather your like me and you write your own stories or you're the guys that just read the stories... your all great. i want to thank you guys for reading my stories because that really makes me feel important in my life... now, grant it i dont have the greatest stories ever... but you guys believe in me. so... thank you. I'm sorry for the long speech, ive had a bit of an enlightenment recently when a lot of people who go to my college started recognizing me for my stories, which is... pretty swish. so thank you guys... have a great...uh...day/night/life... and I'll see you guys next time.

Stay Shady~


	3. Friend?

It was early in the morning on a Sunday during late winter. I started feeling regret about the way I slammed the door in twilights face yesterday, so I plan on going out and apologizing. It's going to be awkward since this is the first time I've made an official apology to somebody. I grabbed my hoodie and threw it on. I walked out of my apartment and locked the door behind me. I threw the keys into my pocket and started making my way to twilights place. She said she lived in the library on oak St. I think I know where oak street is, it's in the north end of ponyville… on the exact opposite side of town. It's going to be a bit of a walk… but it shouldn't be too bad. With my goal in mind I started making my way down the street.

It was pretty early, only two hours before noon, so there weren't a lot of people or ponies walking around, especially on a winter Sunday when they all just stay inside and watch TV or play video games. There were a few ponies around who were walking about and a few people too. I kept my way forward to the north side of town. I kept my hood up so others wouldn't see my face, but they gave me passing glances nevertheless. I just kept my head down and minded my own business as I made my way through town. It wasn't long before I reached the market district, or better known as the center of town. The center was denser than the rest of the town. There were more ponies doing Sunday shopping or working at stalls and stores. I just passed right by them all and headed into the north end of town.

I could tell I had reached the north end of the town because it was more children friendly. A lot of brightly colored houses and a park not far from where I was right now. It was the ideal place to live in ponyville; it's also much closer to the school. The south side, where I live, are the slums, there are a few big factory buildings, but those have been long since abandoned. I used to go there and it would feel like I had my own mansion. Living in the south side made it easy for me to get into urban exploration (parkour). I used to climb to the top of them whenever I got bored or angry. I haven't been there recently, not since the local drug dealers moved in and claimed the space as their own. I learned from experience that you shouldn't mess with those kinds of people or ponies. That happened about a few years ago, and I've avoided the buildings since.

As I walked around the north end of town I looked around for any sign that said 'oak St.' I walked around for a bit and checked my watch for the time. It still wasn't even noon yet, and the day was still cold and early. I looked left and right and out of the corner of my eye I spotted the oak street sign. I crossed the street and started making my way down the road. I looked left and right for the place I was looking for, even though I don't really know what place I am looking for. She mentioned a few times that she lives in a tree, it must be one of the old equestrian styled buildings, the north side of town is famous for them. Ever since humans converged with the ponies we started building modern styled houses and buildings which really helped make living conditions better, but these kinds of houses are still nice.

After a bit of looking around I finally found it. A large tree with windows, a door, and other household things cut out of it. I walked over and made my way up to the door as I walked across the stone walkway. I stopped in front of the door and pulled a hand out of my coat pocket to knock on the door. I knocked twice on the door and waited for a second. From behind the door I heard a voice, an unfamiliar one, but it was muffled and I couldn't make out the words. Once a few seconds passed the door opened up, but there was nopony there. I looked around curiously until I heard somepony clear there throat, but it sounded like it was coming from under me. I looked down with both hands in my pockets to see a small purple dragon with green spikes and a cross expression standing there and holding the door open.

"Can I help you?" he asked clearly aggravated.

"I'm… uh… looking for twilight sparkle." I said still confused by why a baby dragon answered the door.

"Yeah whatever… wait here." He said as he slammed the door in my face ironically. I don't know why he couldn't just invite me in… but okay. I could hear a voice call out from inside.

"TWILIGHT!" shouted the baby dragon from inside of the house.

"What do you want spike… I'm in the bath, it better be important."

"That jerk who made you cry the other day is at the door."… I made her cry. I didn't know that, it only makes me feel ten times worse now.

"He is… is he still here?" she asked.

"I don't know… I slammed the door in his face so…"

"SPIKE…WHAT THE HELL?!" shouted twilight form inside. "Let him in…" she said.'

"Why should I?" he asked "he made you cry didn't he…?"

"Spike you shouldn't meddle in other ponies business… mow let him in." she said.

"Fine… but I swear if he tries anything I'm grabbing the frying pan, that'll teach him." he said as he walked back and opened the door. He just glared at me angrily and walked away from the open door. I walked into the library and closed the door behind me. It seemed a bit small, but I was able to fit through well. It was traditionally built for ponies, so some of the stuff in the house is small in comparison to me, but it's fortunate that we humans don't completely tower over ponies. The average man is a good 1½ feet taller than a pony. I looked around and noticed that the walls were lined with book… in fact I'm pretty sure that when they built this place they completely screwed the idea of having walls and just decided to make an enclosure of bookshelves.

As I was looking around there was a sudden bang that filled the air and pain shot up through my leg. I let out a brief shout of pain and clasped my shin as I fell to the ground. I saw the purple dragon standing there with a frying pan in his little claw, it's amazing how he can even hold that thing, let alone hit me with it. That fucking hurt though… I mean really.

"What the hell?!" I said grasping my leg which was still hurting.

"That's for making twilight cry…" he said pointing at me. "And there's more where that came from." I didn't even know I made her cry, but if I did I feel bad about it, which is strange for me. Normally I don't give a shit about anypony except myself and old lady grey. He scurried off into the kitchen at the sounds of hoofsteps on the stairs and I pulled myself back up on my feet. My leg was hurting, it's probably bruised, but I sucked it up and watched twilight walking down the stairs, her fur was damp and she smiled when she saw me. It was a bit of a guilty smile.

"I'm sorry about spike… he can get very protective, but he's a good dragon, he just cares a lot about me… you aren't hurt are you?" she asked walking over.

"He hit my shin with a frying pan…" I said. "But it's not bad, just caught me off guard."

"Alright… so do you need anything?" she asked. I pulled my hood off and rubbed the back of my head as I blushed and my eyes darted around the room.

"Well… you see, I uh… just wanted…" I muttered, but it was hard to say sorry, it was also very awkward saying it too… but it needed to be done. "I'm... uh, I'm sorry." I muttered under my breath quietly.

"What was that?" asked twilight,

"Look… I'm sorry about slamming the door in your face last night, and about all the things I said. I was just having a really bad day." I said. "'cuz after we met and I finally met somepony who doesn't think I'm a freak, I got really excited, but then your friends came in and kinda ruined the whole thing… it made me angry and I got angry at you for no reason… so… I'm sorry." She looked at me and smiled.

"Thank you… and I'm sorry too, for my friends." She said.

"I'm also sorry that I made you cry, I didn't know you were that upset… which makes me feel ten times worse." I said.

"What?" she asked. "Oh… nonono… that wasn't your fault, really I promise." She said. "I was just bullied by a few guys who saw us when we tripped over each other the other day. They were really harsh." She said. "I was just a bit upset after all the things that happened yesterday."

"a few guys… who?" I asked.

"I don't know… but they recognized where you lived and started making jokes about both of us. They said we were like your parents… it, was awkward and all the other things hurt inside. That was the first time I've been bullied, it really hurt."

"Oh… well, I'm sorry." I said looking at twilight sullen expression.

"I can't believe you've gone through that kinda stuff every day." Said twilight looking up at me.

"It's not just every day; it's been practically for my entire life." I said. "It isn't fun being me… but you can't pick your parents… and I got the short end of that stick."

"Wow that really sucks." Said twilight.

"Your damn right it does." I said jokingly. "So… I guess, I should get going now, I'm not good with apologies, but I think we're cool now… right?" I asked.

"Yeah…" said twilight with a smile back on her face. "No hard feelings…" she said.

"Great… now, I guess I should go now… it's my day off so I want to be as unproductive as possible." I said.

"Wait…" said twilight making me stop as I was now walking towards the door. I looked back at her and she slowly started making her way to the kitchen. "Sorry, I was wondering if you wanted to stay a while, I mean we just became friends… I could make you some tea or something." She suggested waiting before going into the kitchen to see what I say.

"F…friends?" I said curiously. "I've, uh… never really had a friend before."

"I used to be like that too." Said twilight.

"Wait… really?" I asked.

"Yeah, I was so caught up with my studies in Canterlot and focused so intently on magic that the only real friend I made was my brother, but that doesn't really count since he's my big brother." She said.

"Yeah, but you had the chance to make friends… I didn't, I was alone from beginning to end." I said. I hadn't noticed it but her horn had been glowing for some time now and she was using her magic to prepare tea in the kitchen area… sneaky. She levitated a silver tray of tea over and placed it down on a small table.

"Want some tea?" she asked.

"I guess I might I as well… I'm not that big on tea, I'm more of a coffee person myself… but thank you it smells good." I said awkwardly. I wasn't very used to this… friendly, conversation stuff. Compliments and kind words weren't my strong suit. I was used to defending myself verbally and physically, and usually don't like to talk to anypony. Even with old lady grey, our talks aren't even long enough for me to really say anything. It's usually just good morning and thank you when she offers me food. Twilight levitated a cup of tea over and I clasped it in my hands. She took a sip from it and I did the same. It wasn't as strong as coffee was, kinda boring, but then I guess that's the magic behind it. it wasn't half bad, it was very sweet and relaxing.

"Why don't you sit down." she said gesturing to the couch in the corner up against a bookshelf. I walked over and took a seat at one end and twilight took a seat at the other end. There was a decent amount of space in between us, but it still felt kinda awkward. I didn't know twilight too well, but I enjoyed her company. Still, her house is a lot different than mine, almost the exact opposite. It was very awkward sitting on her sofa and drinking her tea. "So where do you work?" she asked.

"Why?" I rebutted with a question of my own.

"I just thought that we should try and get to know each other a bit more, just sit down and talk." She said.

"Alright…" I said taking another sip of my tea. "Well… I work at the corner store on South Street. I hate my boss and I hate my coworker. The pay's really bad as you can see from the messy apartment I live in… so things aren't great right now." I said.

"I didn't know your apartment was messy." Said twilight.

"It might look nice on the outside… but it's a whole new place on the inside. I'm a really lazy person." I said.

"Well, I guess we all have to start off somewhere." Said twilight. Before our awkward little conversation could continue the door to the house went flying open and a mare entered the building.

"Twilight...? Twilight…" called out the mare. Once she walked fully into the house and closed the door I could see who it was. It was that rainbow Pegasus from the other day. She looked over and stopped when she saw us. "What the… what's going on here?" asked the Pegasus floating up into the air and floating over and glaring at me.

"Oh… hey rainbow dash." Said twilight. "Me and Zach were just talking and having tea, do you want something?" she asked.

"What the heck is this freak doing here?" asked rainbow dash pointing at me.

"Hey! Don't call him a freak." Said twilight getting defensive. "He came here to apologize, he's actually a great guy, I don't know what you and applejack have against him." said twilight. "You know this would be the second time you ruined a perfectly fine conversation between us in only three days."

"You can't trust this guy. Half pony and half human isn't normal… there's got to be some kind of secret he's hiding." Said the Pegasus. She zoomed over and glared at me. "He's probably got a weird fleshy tail under his pants… or a cutie mark. He isn't normal… he's a freak."

"Hey, just leave me alone…" I said getting up. She glared at me and I glared at her, I wasn't particularly enjoying her presence right now. She was starting to make me angry.

"Rainbow dash please just stop." Said twilight. "He hasn't done anything wrong." Said twilight.

"Nothing wrong?" said rainbow dash somewhat surprised. "Everything about him is wrong. What his parents did is wrong and they made something even more wrong… his entire freak existence is wrong." She said making me…VERY, mad now. I clenched my fist and grit my teeth. "I bet his own parents are ashamed of him." she said which sent me over the edge. I lashed my fist out and punched the blue Pegasus right in the face with all my might. I felt a slight crack under my fist as the force of the punch sent the Pegasus straight to the ground. She hit the ground and let out a cry of pain and clutched her snout which was bleeding profusely.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" I shouted pointing down at her. "DON'T YOU FUCKING TALK ABOUT MY PARENTS LIKE THAT…!" once I had realized what I just did I bolted for the already open door. I blew past the door pushing it all the way open and running right out of the house. I fucking BOLTED down the streets jumping and dodging people ponies and everything in between. I just ran, and ran… and ran. I just wanted to get away from everything. I feel strange about hitting that pony, like I regret it… but I don't, I know I don't. That bitch had it coming to her, but I think I feel bad about how twilight must feel. That was one of her friends, and I just socked her in the face.

I rushed through the center of town and ran past all the stalls and ponies. I ran all the way to the south end. I ran past the store I work at and soon enough the apartment complex I live in came into view. I booked it down the road and rushed up the stairs to my apartment. I stopped in front of my door and quickly unlocked the door. I threw the door open and ran inside slamming it shut behind me. It was only once I was in my apartment that I realized that I didn't have anywhere else to run now. I didn't want to throw myself on the bed and start cry, only because I didn't have to cry. I just… felt strange. I stood there for a few minutes, like the whole world was crumbling around me… but then I realized I was home, and safe… from whatever I was running from. Feeling guilty though, I walked over to the door and locked it. I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. I sat down at the couch and just stayed there.

I wasn't watching any TV at the moment, I just felt like I needed to sit down for a while. After a good hour passed by I reached for the remote to the TV and flipped it on. It flickered on to the weather channel. They were saying something about severe hail showers tomorrow afternoon. I switched channels to something else and just started mindlessly watching TV, hoping deep inside that it would drown out everything that happened, but I don't think it was working. I would flash In and out of reality and my mind. I would try and focus on what I was watching but I kept drifting back to my thoughts. Soon enough I was so internally conflicted that I didn't even know what the hell I was even watching. So eventually I just shut off the TV and everything seemed to turn quiet. I looked over through the doorway into the kitchen at the time on the microwave and saw it was only five. I just spent a good four hours of my day off trying and ultimately failing to watch TV.

I figured that I should go take a shower… it might help clear my head and my conscious. So I started making my way over to the bathroom but before I could put my hand on the door there was a ringing in the room over, it was the phone. I walked from the bathroom and into the kitchen where the ringing was. I walked up to the counter and saw my cellphone buzzing, glowing, and ringing. I picked it up to see who it was and to my surprise it was my boss, he almost never calls me unless its important. I flipped the phone open and put it to my ear.

"Hello…" I asked into the phone.

"Zachary…" he said formally. "Have you seen the news?" he asked.

"Uhm… no sir." I said.

"well they're saying that there is going to be a massive hailstorm tomorrow, so there isn't going to be any work, they said that it would be dangerous to be caught out in that, so we can't have employees walking out in that, and chances of even getting any customers tomorrow are slim, so no work… congratulations, you get another day off… unpaid though." He said.

"Uh… thank you sir…" I said before there was a click on the other end and then a beep, meaning he hung up on me. I placed my phone back down on the counter and felt a little better knowing I don't have to go into work tomorrow. Even if it is unpaid that's still pretty good. With that distraction over with I made my way back to the bathroom. I walked in and undressed; I got into the shower and just soaked there for a while. I cleaned myself this time, but spent some extra time in there just soaking there. Once I was done with my shower I turned the water off and stepped out of the shower and onto a towel I put on the ground to soak up the water. I grabbed my towel off the rack and started drying myself off. I wrapped the towel around me and walked out of the bathroom and into the living room. I opened the door to my bedroom and walked in. it was a bit dark in here now so I flicked on the light. I looked over at the clock and it was only 5:46. It was still somewhat early in the day.

I killed the rest of my day by going on the internet and just dicking around on the computer. I played games and watched videos and listened to music. It was a good way to keep myself occupied for the next couple of hours as the day slowly started to fade away around me. When I next checked the clock about three hours had passed and it was roughly around nine now. I thought about getting some food and eating dinner… but I wasn't very hungry. I just turned off my laptop and closed it up as I got ready to sleep. I undressed into my boxers and threw my clothes on the floor. I jumped into my messy and unmade bed and rested my head on the pillow. I closed my eyes and tried getting some sleep, though… everything that happened earlier today started flashing through my head, eventually I fell asleep with those memories and knew that I should probably do something about it.

I think I might have to apologize again…

**Authors Note:** here you go, the new chapter of Unforgiven. as the plot starts to thicken we now have to deal with the development and characteristics of other characters. i plan on having the whole set of the mane six become introduced to Zachary Miles, each with their own view and history with Zach. so we've got RD who as you've all probably guessed doesn't like Zach. but the feeling is mutual, so its alright. even though with all the characters being introduced Twilight is going to remain the central aspect of it all... she's the important one... remember that. so i hope you guys liked it, be sure to write a review and favorite the story. also make sure to check out my other stories if you haven't and i hope you guys have a great day/night/life.

~Stay Shady


	4. Stormed In

The morning arose quickly as my alarm clock started buzzing off to wake me up right at six. I lazily brought my arm up and hit the snooze button. I tiredly sat up on my bad and reset the alarm clock. I let out a deep awn and stretched my arms and legs as I got up from my bed and picked a random pair of clothes off the ground. I threw a shirt on and a pair of jeans. I put on a pair of socks and trudged my way to the kitchen. I poured myself some cereal… still without milk, and ate it in the other room while I watched TV. I was glad that I didn't have to go in for work today, but the hail storm seemed like it's going to be a real shit storm. Just in case I probably should bust out the candles and a flashlight.

Once I was done with my cereal I walked into the kitchen and put the bowl on the counter. I noticed that I was starting to run low on clean dishes, I guess I might as well stuff the dish washer full and clean some of them before the storm hits just in case the power goes. So I gathered up all the dirty dishes around the apartment and managed to get them all into the dishwasher. I put in one of those little cleaning packets and started the dishwasher. That started chugging along and I let it do what it needs to do. I should also go and do the laundry too… but I can do that tomorrow. I don't want to walk all the way to the end of the building to do that. They said that the storm was going to start around noon I think, at least that's what I heard while I was channel jumping. But of course, knowing the weather channels, we can probably expect anything but whatever they say.

While I was in the kitchen I went ahead and grabbed a bag of small wax candles that my mother had left behind. They weren't huge and majestic scented candles… even though I do have one of those on the coffee table in the living room… it apple pie scented. These candles were just regular wax candles. I put them on the table so I can get them easily if the lights go off. I also keep my lighter in my pocket, so I've always got that. Speaking of my lighter, this is probably the only chance ill get to have a smoke. So I went over to my favorite window sill and opened up the window and sat down on the sill. I lit up a cigarette and started huffing away. I looked outside and even for the winter it was unusually dark and depressing. It definitely looks like there's going to be a massive shit storm later on. It was much longer until I finished my cigarette and threw the butt outside the window. I closed up the window and got back inside.

I walked across my living room and over to the bathroom. I went inside and did my business and came right back out. I took a seat on my couch and got comfy. I threw my feet up on the table which was no longer cluttered with dishes and garbage. I don't tidy up too often, only when I find it necessary. I looked down near my feet to the small red apple pie scented candle that sat there collecting dust. I figured what the hell and took the lid off the candle. I grabbed my lighter and lit the candle. It burned away gently and I sat there and watched TV. This would be a good day to vegetate on the couch… granted the power doesn't go out, if that happens… well, I don't know what I'll end up doing for fun, probably nothing. I think I'll be able to manage though, I always find a way to make the days pass by quicker. I suppose since my laptop does run on a battery it will last after the power goes out, but I usually keep it plugged it so I can use it for hours at a time.

The only problem with that is that if the power does go out that mean the WI-FI router for the building will go too and I won't be able to use the internet, which is a problem. I don't have many ways of keeping myself entertained really. Well… there is that box of magazines under my bed. I suppose I could whip that out, maybe. I stopped thinking about the future after a while and just looked over and watched TV. I sat there watching the TV and looked outside. I saw my window was now soaking wet and it was visibly raining outside. Just as I turned my head back to the TV there was a ringing at the door. I looked over confused to who that could be at this time. I got up and quickly rushed over to answer the door, whoever was out there was probably soaking wet. When I got to the door and opened it up I looked down to see a soaking wet twilight sparkle. She was also muddy and dirty, she looked like a mess, but she had a smile on her face.

"Twilight?!" I said confused.

"Uh…hey." She said smiling.

"Jesus Christ… what the hell are you doing here?" I asked gesturing her to come in. she walked right in and I closed the door.

"Well, I wanted to come over here and talk about yesterday." She said.

"Today of all days when there's supposed to be a storm?" I said.

"I didn't know there was going to be a storm, I don't watch a lot of TV… even the news." She said. "I came over here and all of a sudden it just started pouring… and I'm talking, like the rain just started almost instantly. It didn't even begin with a light drizzle, it just went straight to pouring. I was already close to your house, so I rushed over, I fell in some mud on my way here… I'm a mess aren't I?" she said explaining.

"God damnit…" I said looking her over, she was absolutely covered in mud. It was dripping down onto the tile flooring of the kitchen. "Hold on…" I said walking off. I grabbed a few dirty towels I had laying on the floor and made a little path to the bathroom from the kitchen so she doesn't track mud all over the place for me to clean. "Here…" I said. "You can go and use my shower… get yourself cleaned up." I said.

"Thanks…" she said smiling. "I'm sorry to cause you a lot of trouble"

"Don't worry about it… just, try not to make too much of a mess." I said.

"Alright… I'll try." And with that she walked off into the bathroom using the trail of towels I left out for her. She used me magic to close the door and I picked up all the spare towels she walked on which were now tracked in mud and dirt. I folded them up and threw them into a straw clothing basket I had in the corner. Even though I have a clothes basket most of my clothing just ends up going onto the floor of my room. From in here I could hear the water turn on and then shortly after the shower head sprung to life and the shower started up. While twilight was showering I sat down on the couch and looked over to the TV. Suddenly from outside there was a flash and then subsequently followed by a loud boom. The thunder and lightning must be passing over now. We could start losing power soon, so I better be ready when it happens. It's pretty dark outside right now even though it's the middle of the day, the dark clouds covering the sun. And it gets dark earlier in the winter anyway.

I kept watching the TV for a while and about a few minutes later I heard the shower screech to a stop and the sound of water hitting the bathtub vanished. I heard the shower curtain slide over, as twilight was probably stepping out now. I stayed there and my ears picked up something else, it was a loud pitter patter. It was thicker and louder than rain. I looked outside and couldn't really see anything. I walked over to the window and looked out closely. I saw that now it had started to hail… as promised by our trusty weather station. Everybody's probably inside just waiting out the storm. I could see outside that there was a harsh breeze as the rain from before had now started to fade into a horrible mixture of snow, rain, and hail. Behind me I heard the click of the bathroom door and looked back to see twilight walking out of the bathroom with damp fur and mane.

"That feels much better… thank you." Said twilight smiling now with clean fur.

"Of course… no problem." I said. "I hope you don't plan on walking all the way back home in this weather." I said pointing out of the window. Twilight walked over and looked out the window.

"Oh my god, I didn't think it would be this bad…" she said.

"Oh yeah, the weather forecast was calling for a major shit storm." I said. "I wouldn't even be surprised if we lost power soon."

"I'm sorry for coming over; it was really stupid of me." She said.

"It's fine… besides, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I made you go home in this weather." I said. "So I guess you're just going to have to wait out the storm with me." I said.

"Thanks Zack… you're a good friend." Said twilight.

"There's that word again." I said.

"What…? Friend?" said twilight curiously.

"Yeah…" I replied. "It may sound weird but the word friend isn't really one that I've used often in my life, you're probably the only friend I have that's actually my age… or aren't my parents."

"So I take it you actually have other friends?" she presumed.

"Friend… singular, as in one other." I said. "Old lady grey who lives in one of the first floor apartments. She's a sweet old mare who says high to me most mornings before I go to work. She bakes a lot and usually forks all of the extra food she bakes over to me. She's great; sometimes she's the only one who reminds me that I'm human."

"Oh… she sounds nice." Said twilight.

"Yeah… she's sweet." I said. "Oh… you wanted to talk about something… it was about what happened the other day." I said now blushing a bit from embarrassment about what happened yesterday.

"Yeah, it's about rainbow dash." Said twilight.

"Alright… uh, why don't we have a seat?" I suggested moving over to the couch. I sat down and grabbed the remote and started to turn down the volume on the TV so I and twilight could talk. As twilight came over and sat down I placed the remote back on the table and looked over to twilight. "I uh… well about yesterday… uh… damn." I said. "It isn't easy trying to explain to a friend why you socked their other friend in the face." I said.

"No… I get it, rainbow dash was really out of line." Said twilight. "But… I can't help but feel like she might have pricked a nerve, because you really lost it when she insulted your parents." Said twilight.

"Yeah… I get really touchy on that subject." I said. "It's because, growing up my parents were really the only ones who cared for me and loved me. If people say things about my parents like they're weird or something, I can take that… but it's when they say things like your friend said… about my parents not loving me, or regretting ever having me… that's what sets me off." I said.

"Oh…I see." Said twilight. "Since you grew up your whole life with your parents as the only protection you have you did anything to keep them in your life." Said twilight. "if people or other ponies go around telling you that your parents never loved you or filling your head with lies it takes that feeling of protection you get from your parents and makes you feel completely vulnerable… so you become aggressive because you don't want to accept it." she said.

"Wow… you're really smart." I said.

"Well, I did always do well in school, and I take pride in learning and growing smarter." She said.

"Yeah, you probably graduated top of your class while I barely graduated high school." I said. "Anyway… I know you explained all the stuff about your friend, but I still feel sorry for hitting her, well, I don't feel sorry for her, she got what she deserved… but I'm just kinda sorry you had to see it, I felt like you think less of me."

"I don't though." Said twilight. "If anything I feel less about rainbow dash, she was out of line on that. You weren't doing anything to annoy or bother her and she just started saying those things to you. I don't know why people and ponies have to be so mean."

"What I don't understand is why you or your friend didn't chase after me after I bolted past the door." I said.

"Well I figured you probably needed some time alone to cool down." said twilight. "Also that was one hell of a punch you made and it broke rainbow dash's snout… so she was bleeding, a lot… like, everywhere." I chuckled a bit and twilight smiled too.

"I didn't know I could punch like that." I said still chuckling a bit.

"Yeah, when I saw the punch I swear my heart stopped." Said twilight giggling. "Rainbow dash is one of the most prideful ponies I know; she couldn't believe that you had just knocked the stuffing out of her in one blow." She said.

"Oh really?" I asked still snickering.

"Hehehe, yeah, she was trying to deny it and everything, it was pretty funny really." said twilight. "she was just sitting there with a bloody snout telling me that it was a cheap shot and that it didn't hurt, It was pretty funny." She said making me burst out laughing. We both laughed at the funny tale which really made me start to feel better about the whole thing. After a little bit the laughter died down and we stopped chuckling and giggling with smiles on our faces. "Don't worry about her though, she's fine, she'll just be a bit sore for a week or so." Added twilight.

"Alright, well that's good." I said.

"So… how long have you been living in this apartment?" asked twilight?

"Two or so years." I said. "The rents really cheap and it's got everything, cable, internet, water and heating." I said. "It's a nice place, and it's all that I need really."

"Can you show me around?" asked twilight.

"Uh… sure." I said. "Well, this is the living room… obviously. You've already been in the bathroom. The first room you entered was the kitchen/ dining room." I said. "I usually eat my food out here though, so I don't usually use the dining room table." I said. "The only other room left is my bedroom which is through that door behind us." I said. "Here, come and see, it's nothing special though." I said getting up and twilight getting up too. We both walked over to the door and I opened it up for her. I let her in first and she walked in as I followed her. "This is it… it's a mess, but this is my room." I said.

"It's a nice room." She said.

"Yeah, there are a bunch of clothes on the floor, sorry, but I'm a bit of a lazy slob sometimes, but I pick up after myself eventually." I said. "Like just this morning, before you came here… did the dishes." I said pointing my thumbs up at myself like I had accomplished something important. Twilight just looked back at me and giggled.

"Good for you." She said jokingly which made me chuckle.

"Well that's the closet over there; I mostly keep old junk in there. This is my dresser which I put all of my clothes in" I said pointing out the dresser next to the door to the right. "That's my bed over there with the alarm clock on the end table." I said. Twilight walked over to my bed and looked over it.

"Wow… humans have such bigger beds than us ponies do." She said. "But it makes sense, if you slept in a pony's bed your feet would hang off the end by your knees." She said. I laughed and agreed with her.

"Yeah, probably." I said. Twilight kept looking around and she spotted the trash basket by the end table and saw what was in it. There was an empty packet of cigarettes in there which she pulled out with her magic.

"You smoke?" she asked.

"Oh… yeah, I do." I said.

"I didn't know that." she said still looking at the packet of cigarettes.

"Sorry if I haven't told you, but we haven't really had a good amount of time to talk and get to know each other, so it never really came up." I said. "…is that a problem, that I smoke?" I asked.

"Oh… no, it's not. I just didn't know, you don't really seem like the kind of guy who would." Said twilight.

"I don't?" I said confusingly, since I was obviously the type of guy who would smoke.

"Well, I mean taking your lifestyle into consideration it's obvious that you would smoke. But I mean at first glance it doesn't seem like it, even physically you don't look like a smoker." Said twilight.

"Really… how so?" I asked.

"Well you don't have a coarse or raspy voice, yours sounds smooth." She said. "You also don't have a smokers cough, and your teeth aren't stained from the tobacco. Also I heard that smoking causes wrinkles, and you don't have any… which is strange for all the stress you must go through."

"I never really thought about it." I said. "But now that you say so I guess it makes sense… I've just never noticed it." I said. "I'm twenty three now, I've been smoking since I was sixteen." I said. "So it would make sense that I would start to show signs of these things already… oh well, maybe I can just handle it better, like some people can handle alcohol better than others." I said shrugging.

"I don't think the same rules apply with tobacco." Said twilight.

"Well you don't know," I said. "Maybe it cou-"suddenly the lights in the apartment flickered and went dark as well as the TV. "-and there goes the power." I said stopping my previous sentence and starting a new one. Twilight looked around confused at first but it didn't take long to figure out what just happened. "…great." I said.

"Oh that's not good." Said twilight.

"Yeah, it isn't… but don't worry I've got a plan… or, I've had a plan. I knew the power wouldn't last all day, so I've got some candles we can set up." I said. I started making my way out of the room and into the kitchen with twilight right behind me. It wasn't pitch black, but it was still very dark, so it was hard to see. I managed to get into the kitchen and grab a candle form the bag I had on the table. I took out my lighter and lit the candle. I placed it down on the table and lit a few more which I put on the counter. Soon the room was romantically lit with candlelight.

"Ooh, pretty." Said twilight. I looked back at her and smiled. We moved onto the next room which was the living room. I started placing down candles and lighting them all around the room. Once this room was light I lit up the bathroom and then the bedroom. Soon enough the whole place was lit up cozily with candlelight. Even the large scented candle I lit before was still burning. Twilight even walked over into the living room to where the scented candle was and took a big whiff of air and smiled. "Mmmm, it smells like apple pie in here… it smells wonderful, what is that coming from?" she asked.

"It's that big candle there." I said pointing out the scented candle as I placed my lighter in my pocket. "It's a scented candle, apple pie scented, my mother left it here and it's just been kinda collecting dust until now."

"It smells wonderful." Said twilight. "I don't think I've ever used one of these, I knew that they made them but I could never find any." She said.

"Well I don't really know where to buy them." I said. "It's not like I go candle shopping in my spare time, it's just a leftover from my mom. They're nice… I guess." I said. I didn't want to admit it, but the cinnamon and apple smell in the room was kinda nice.

"So what do we do now?" asked twilight.

"Not really sure…" I said. "I was planning on just going to bed probably, you know, sleep out the storm." I said. "If I went to sleep with you in my house it would be kinda weird." and it's not like I can open up that box of magazines under my bed now with her around.

"I probably would have just read my way through the storm with a few good books." She said thinking off to the collection of books she has at the tip of her hoof back at her house.

"I could have guessed that." I said. "But unfortunately the closest thing I've got to a gook here is the phone book. And the only reason that counts as a book is because it's got the word right in its name."

"Yeah, I don't really plan on reading the phone book any time in my life." Said twilight. I chuckled a bit and walked back off to my bedroom door.

"Well, I probably have something buried around here somewhere." I said. "Maybe in my closet, I keep a lot of junk in there." I wandered into my room and twilight followed right after me. We walked into the room and I moved over to the closet and opened it up. I shifted around and looked around until twilight poked my side.

"Hey look… this box says 'games'!" she said excitedly. I looked over to the large plastic bin and grabbed it. I pulled it out slowly and didn't make anything fall all over the place. I placed the box on the floor and then memories started flooding into my head.

"Oh… now I remember." I said. "These aren't the kinds of games you think they are."

"Uhh… should I be concerned with that?" she asked giving me a strange look.

"It's nothing weird… look." I said opening the box to reveal a assorted collection of video games, consoles, tangled wires with controllers and AV cables at the ends of them, and a few handheld gaming devices, like a game boy.

"Oh… I know what these are." Said twilight. "These are video games, and by the looks of it you've got a bunch of old systems in here." She said. I was somewhat surprised; I didn't think she would be into this kind of stuff.

"Yeah, there's an old Atari in here, a SNES, N64, and a play station 2. Also a gamboy as well." I said. "I didn't know you played video games." I said.

"I don't really, I just heard about them a lot. I did used to have an old NES, my favorite games were the final fantasy games." She said looking back into her head and remembering distant but fond thoughts.

"Oh god… I remember those games." I said. "It only makes sense that you would like them." I said. "I tried getting into them, but it never really worked for me."

"They were the first video games I ever played, I used to be soooo bad at them, but I got pretty good once I got older and understood how they worked." She said. "What was your first video game?"

"Oh god… that's a tough one." I said thinking way back. "Oh… now I know… Doom." I said.

"Doom?" asked twilight confusingly.

"Yeah, I know, strange name…" I said. "It's an old computer game actually; it's the second first person shooter to come out ever pretty much. I remember stumbling upon it at a local game store… I uh… oh, I think I might have actually pocketed it from the store." I said.

"What!?" said twilight shockingly. "how could you do that?!" she asked not quite disappointed but really surprised, I mean… c'mon, I'm the guy everypony hates, I smoke, and I punched her friend in the face, I do have a bit of a delinquent past.

"Hey… don't judge me." I said. "I used to be really rebellious as a kid, I was a problem child." I said. "Besides, that game's ancient, it was on the game stores clearance rack for like two bits." I said. "in fact… I think it might still be in here." I said digging through the box. I rummaged through until a familiar logo with a familiar picture came up, and I found it. I smiled as I pulled it from the box and held it up for twilight to see. The front cover was a marine on a hill, all scratched up and bloody with hordes of demons crawling up to him as he's blasting them in the face… good memories.

"Oh god… this seems a bit… violent." Said twilight.

"There have been worse games, besides… it's old." I said. "The cover art for the game looks better than the game itself. But it's such a good game… such a good game." I repeated.

"I'll take your word for it." said twilight giggling.

"I could put it into my laptop, it has a battery." I suggested. "But you probably don't want to play the game, and probably don't want to watch me play the game either." I said. "But I think I put it on my desk for some other time." I said placing the disk case on my desk next to the laptop. Twilight giggled again and rolled her eyes.

"Playing games is fun… watching others play games… not so much." She said.

"It still surprises me that you're into stuff like video games." I said.

"I like the older ones; I'm not really into the new games that they make, and most of them are either really stupid or really violent… or both." She said.

"Well I wish I had enough money to buy a consol and some stupidly violent video games, but with the shit job I've got my hopes of that are as realistic… as… well, I don't have a punch line for that one… but it isn't going to happen soon." I said completely fucking up the joke I had planned out in my head.

"Nice going with the jokes." Said twilight giggling still at my failure. Her giggling was soon interrupted by a collective growl that resonated from our stomachs. Needless to say we both blushed out of embarrassment. "I think I might be hungry." Said twilight. I pulled up the sleeve on my hoodie to check my digital watch about the time.

"Holy shit… it's almost seven… how the hell did that happen?" I asked wondering how it could have been that long already.

"No way…" she said doubting me.

"What time did you get here again?" I asked.

"I think like around 2 or so." She said. "It couldn't have already been five hours."

"Yeah look…" I said showing her the watch. She looked at it and just shrugged. "I guess time goes by quickly when you're reliving childhood memories."

"I guess so." She said. Twilight's stomach once again growled and mine did too quickly after. "you wouldn't happen to have any food here would you?"

"Yeah… but… there's an issue." I said.

"What is it?" she asked as we both got up and started making our way over to my kitchen.

"well you see, since I don't get paid a lot, I can't exactly afford a lot of food, so I usually heat up a microwave dinner… and since there's no power, we can't have a microwave dinner without the microwave." I said.

"Do you have anything else?" twilight asked as we reached the fridge and I opened it up.

"Not really." I said. "At least not anything that a pony would eat." I said. "A few packages of lunch meats and other stuff… I know ponies don't eat meat, sorry." I said. "Uhh… I could check the pantry." I said walking over to the pantry and opening it up. There wasn't much in here either… but. "I do have cereal…" I said.

"Cereal?" she asked condescendingly.

"I don't know… what do you want from me…? I'm just a guy with a shitty job." I said. "My way of life isn't built to support two."

"I suppose cereal is just fine… beggars can't be choosers." Said twilight.

"God damn story of my life." I said reaching up to the box of cereal.

I and twilight spent a good amount of time eating our cereal with milk, and milk to drink as well. It was a good thing I washed the dishes before the power went out, because I was out of clean bowls in the cabinet. While we ate we talked about stuff from our childhoods, in fact I was surprised to see that twilight and I grew up almost the same way. We were both sheltered, but she lived with a wealthy family in Canterlot, and I was sheltered because my parents were afraid to expose me to the outside world. We also went through most of school without friends. Twilight didn't make friends on her own accord, but I didn't have friends because people and ponies didn't want to be around me. It was alright during the younger years of school when all the innocent kids did want to be my friends but the parents would drag their children away from me and warn them about me, causing a deep seeded hate for me in the minds of small children.

We already established that we both like video games, which was pretty cool. But despite growing up the same way I and twilight were polar opposites… literally. I was a messy slob and she was a neat freak. I barely finished high school and she taught as a personal student to the mother fucking princess. When she mentioned that I stopped her for a second because I couldn't really believe what I was hearing. She then revealed that she was the element of magic, and that her friends were the other elements.

"So… you're a bearer of the elements of harmony." I said.

"Yeah…" said twilight. "I know this is probably something that most others would mention earlier… but I kinda thought that you knew." She said. "I'm an element bearer along with my five other friends applejack, pinkie pie, rainbow dash, rarity, and fluttershy." She said.

"Wait… rainbow dash… isn't she the pony I punched in the face yesterday?" I asked.

"Well… yeah." Said twilight.

"Shit…" I muttered under my breath as twilight giggled.

"Don't worry, she can be a bit hot headed, but I think you might have set her straight… either that or she hates your guts now."

"Oh, like she didn't before." I said.

"Well if she comes after you again just punch her in the face again I guess… that seemed to work last time." Suggested twilight. I paused for a second and started laughing. Twilight started to laugh at what she said too. We laughed for a bit and then the laughter started to die down. Neither of us could think of something to follow the joke with so once we stopped laughing there was just some awkward silence. I diverted my eyes away from twilight and looked outside. It was pitch black outside, but you could still hear the pitter patter of the rain hitting the building.

"It's getting late now." I said.

"I guess there isn't much left to do but go to bed and sleep the storm out." suggested twilight.

"I guess so…" I said.

"So I guess I'll take the couch then, do you have a blanket and pillow I can borrow?" she asked.

"Not a good idea." I said shaking my head. "One night on that couch is equivalent to three straight days of back pain… trust me." I said. "Don't worry; I've got roll-up futon in the closet." I said getting up from the living room couch where we were sitting. I walked over to my room and entered it as twilight followed behind me. It was dimly lit in here, so it was hard to see.

"If we're going to be sleeping in here then I should move all the candles in here so we can find our way around." Said twilight as she lifted her horn into the air and it started to glow a vibrant purple. Suddenly all the candles from around the house began to float on over into my bedroom. She placed them all around evenly and suddenly the room became so much brighter. "There… much better."

"Nice thinking…" I said walking over to the closet and opening it back up. I could see the roll up futon lying against the wall in the corner. I grabbed it and pulled it out. I carried it over to the ground next to my bed and rolled it out on the floor. It unfolded to be only a little shorter than my actual bed… it was a big futon, and the thing was fucking heavy too. I went back to the closet and pulled out the old sheets I used before my parents got me new ones. A simple comforter with a pillow should be enough. I carried them over and tossed them onto the futon. "Well… there you go." I said.

"I don't think I've ever slept on something like this." Said twilight using her magic to unfold the blanket and spread it over the futon and place the pillow down nicely on top. She walked onto it and trotted in place patting it down.

"It's a lot more comfortable than you think." I said. Twilight trotted around in a circle a few times and then crawled under the blanket and rested her head on the pillow. "So…?"

"Wow... this is comfortable." She said.

"Told ya…" I said crawling into my own bed still wearing my clothes.

"You sleep in your clothes…? That can't be comfortable." Said twilight.

"Well… I usually sleep in less than I'm wearing… but I can't do that when you're here." I said guiltily, I don't know why I just told her that I sleep practically naked, it must be because I'm tired. I could see her face turn a little red as mine was also turning red.

"Yeah I suppose that makes sense, after all humans have a different anatomy than us ponies. I forgot that it's not socially acceptable for humans to be naked in public." Said twilight who sounded a lot more technical than she usually is. I probably embarrassed her.

"Hehehe, yeah… well, I'm going to sleep now, good night twilight." I said turning around in my bed and laying my head down.

"Yeah, good night." Said twilight. There was a small moment of silence where the only thing you could hear was the rain hitting the apartment complex. "Oh and Zack…" said twilight turning back slightly.

"yeah twilight?"

"I know everypony seems to pick on you… but I really do think of you as a friend… I don't think you're a freak, you're a pretty nice guy… and uh… thanks for letting me stay the night." Said twilight nervously.

"Yeah, no problem twilight. You're a good friend too… and I'm glad that we are friends." I said. She was silent and turned back to go to sleep. I relaxed again and closed my eyes as I started to drift off to sleep and began getting lost in my own world of dreams and imagination. I was glad that I ran into twilight that one day. A lot has happened between the two of us, and I'm glad that she thinks of me as a friend. And I think of her as a friend too. In fact…

…she's the only friend I've got.

-**Authors Note: **i hope you guys enjoyed this new chapter and I'll be sure to keep up with this story for a while. i might actually end up making this a big thing like dream machine and the crimson saga ive got going on. it wont be as long and convoluted... but it'll be pretty epic. so i hope you all keep reading on and be sure to check out the other stories if you haven't yet. make sure to leave a review and let me know if you have any ideas you'd like to share, or if you need advice or help with anything I'm always checking my inbox. until next time...

-_Stay Shady~_


	5. Back To Work

I was abruptly woken up by a blade of light cutting through the cracks of my bedroom curtain and shining right into my eyes. I let out a deep yawn as I slowly started clamoring to consciousness. I rubbed my eyes to help them adjust to the light of the room as I sat up in my bed still wearing my hoodie and jeans from the day before. To my left I saw twilight, sleeping below me on a futon wrapped up comfortably in her blankets. She was fast asleep. As I started to wake up a bit more I thought I could hear something coming from the living room. I tried focusing a bit more and I was sure that there were sounds coming from the other room, I soon became very suspicious and slowly crawled out of my bed. I started inching towards the door and placed my hand into my back pocket.

I pulled out my knife and switched it open. I slowly made my way to the door until I was directly in front of it. I placed my hand on the knob and slowly turned it. I quickly pushed the door open and looked around the room. To my relief it was only the TV that was making the noises, which means the power must have returned, that's good. I let out a breath of relief and quietly closed the door behind me. I walked out into the living room to see not much has really changed. I walked over to the TV and switched it off. I looked to my left and saw the window. It was almost impossible to see outside of it, since I must be covered in snow and ice. I walked over to the window and tried opening it, but it was frozen shut. I tried again but this time with more force. The window flew open and the crack of ice filled the air. All the ice on the window broke off in large chunks and fell to the ground where it shattered like glass upon impact.

I looked outside at the desolate wasteland that the storm had left behind. Everything was covered in snow and then iced over. There was even a tree which had at some point fallen over last night and was now lying perfectly across the road. It's a good thing that id didn't wreck anybody's house. As I stood there with the window open I noticed that the temperature outside and the temp in my house weren't so different. It was fucking cold in this apartment. With the loss of power that meant there was no heat, so my apartment had a long time to cool down. I closed the window as not to let the house freeze anymore than it already is. I closed the window and looked back into the house. I was just noticing that I could see my own breath every time I exhaled. I feel like going back to bed and wrapping myself up in my blankets, it's too fucking cold. I started wondering about work but I realized that there probably isn't going to be any work today, no pony in their right mind would go out on a day like this, everything's iced over. I'm sure that my boss will call me soon and tell me there's no work. Just then my cellphone in the kitchen started to ring.

"Speak of the devil…" I said to myself. I slowly walked my way over to the kitchen and looked around for my phone. I found it lying on the counter and picked it up. I flipped it open and put it to my ear. "Hello?" I said into the phone.

"Hey there zack… uh, how's it going?" asked a familiar voice over the phone. It was my boss, like I said.

"Oh, Mr. Smith." I said acting surprised although I really wasn't. "Everything's fine."

"Did you get through the storm alright?" he asked.

"Yep. Nothing major, a tree got blown over on the street, uh… power went out and now my house is like, 20 damn degrees." I said. He chuckled a bit.

"Well Zack you're a strong kid, I'm sure you'll be fine." He said. He wasn't the greatest boss, and was sometimes a real douche, but he was one of the few people that tolerate my existence, so he doesn't necessarily hate me like most others do. I did notice that his voice did seemed bit melancholy, like he was troubled by something.

"Hey uh… Mr. Smith, are uh… you feeling alright, you sound like something's bothering you."

"Yeah uh… something is bothering me a bit…" he said. "Well… a lot." There was a brief pause where I wanted to ask him if he was alright but I thought that he might say something else. Soon enough he did come through and started talking again, breaking the silence. "Look uh, Zack… this isn't easy to say… but, uh… well the shop is… uh…it's gone." He said. I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head for a second; it was the pain of regret. I could already tell what was coming, but I played dumb for some reason.

"Wa-what do you mean…gone?" I asked.

"The roof caved in during the storm." He said. "All the stock is destroyed, and… I… I, I can't afford to cover the losses from the stock as well as repairs, even with unicorn magic, it's still expensive. Now, I hate saying this…I really do, and I know things were starting to look up with the raise… but it doesn't do anybody much good now does it."

"So… Mother Nature just fucked us out of our jobs… is that what you're telling me?" I asked.

"Yeah…" he said. There was another brief pause before I spoke up again.

"Okay then… uh, well… thanks… I think. I don't know what for really… but thank you." I said. "I, uh… hope you do well." I said. With that I closed the phone shut and ended the call without saying goodbye. I stood there for a few minutes with the phone in my hand, completely motionless. Then I started feeling dizzy, and sick. I felt like I was going to throw up, like I was gagging on something. I finally managed to turn myself around and started to slowly saunter into the living room. I slowly walked over to the couch and sat down. I dropped the phone somewhere between the couch and the kitchen, I don't really know when, all I know is that when I went to put it on the coffee table it wasn't in my hand anymore. I just sat there a stared at the blank TV for a good few minutes. I don't think I've ever had to smoke a cigarette so badly in my life.

I fumbled around my pockets until I grabbed my pack of cigarettes and the lighter. I put one of the cigs in my mouth and lit it up. I took a deep breath and held it in for as long as I could before breathing out all the smoke. I sat there puffing away at the cigarette until there was nothing left but the stump of the filter. I used the glass lid of the scented candle to put my cigarette butt in and ended up taking out another cigarette. I put that one in my mouth too and started smoking it. It started making me feel better… almost. I at least wasn't feeling sick to my stomach anymore. But I couldn't believe that I just got fucked over like that. And the worst part is that there's nobody to be mad at, nobody to blame. All I can do is sit here and feel regret and anger at absolutely nothing. And what's worse is when you start taking in the harsh reality that follows.

Without a job I won't be able to buy food for myself, or even afford rent. I'd have to move back with my parents. I've only got 126 bits to my name… that's it. I barely made enough to save up any amount of money at all. That raise would have put me ahead by a lot. I have to pay rent this Saturday, and it's already Tuesday. Rent is 75 bits. With that gone I've only got 51 bits left, that's not enough to afford rent the next month. So I'll have to buy a train ticket and move in with my parents in manehattan. If I have to leave then I'll be leaving everything behind. That means twilight and I can't be friends anymore, and she's the only friend I've ever made, and most likely will be the last friend I make ever. I sat there smoking my cigarette when I heard the creaking of a door right behind me followed by the sound of hooves.

"Good morning." Said twilight behind me as she made her way over to me. Her mane was a little messy and she seemed a bit groggy, but she was smiling, and it was very becoming of her.

"Yeah… good morning." I said knowing that there was nothing good about it. I was even talking in a depressed melancholy attitude; I guess there was no hiding it at this point.

"Are you smoking right now?" she asked. "You know you shouldn't smoke inside, it's not safe." Said twilight walking over. She looked down at the table and saw the other cigarette butt in the glass cover and looked at me. "is this your second cigarette?" she asked.

"Yeah, it is…" I said. "I… uh, well… I don't know." I said.

"Are you feeling alright, you look like you might be sick." She said.

"I… I think I might be, at least I feel sick, I don't know if I really am though." I said.

"Maybe you caught something overnight, it is cold in here from the lack of power." She said shivering a little bit. I didn't respond to her and she just looked at me with a worried look. She sat down on the couch next to me as I finished smoking the rest of my cigarette and blowing the smoke away from twilight into the open room. "Is something wrong?" she asked.

"Yeah… yeah there is." I said.

"What is it?" twilight moved closer to me and gave me a concerned look.

"well… while you were sleeping my boss called, he… uh, he said that the roof of the store I work at caved in… so I'm out of a job." I said.

"oh, Zach, i.. I'm sorry to hear that, can you get a new one?" she asked.

"That isn't the end of it." I said. "Since I don't have a job anymore I'll have to move in with my parents in manehattan. I've only got 126 bits, that's barely enough to afford a train ticket. I won't be able to pay the rent for this month, so unless I find a job by Saturday… I'll have to pack up and leave."

"No… you can't leave, I…I mean we just became friends and all… there has to be another way, we can get you a job by Saturday easily."

"no we can't, to get a job is more complicated than you think, you have to hand in your resume, then wait for them to call you and set up a interview, and even then they might say no or it'll take them a long time to respond, at the quickest somebody could get a job in about a month." I said. twilight stopped trying to argue and she then grew silent. We both sat there in bitter anticipation, we both knew that I'd have to leave now, and neither of us really want that. Suddenly the silence was broken when twilight coughed and then started to speak up.

"Actually…" she said. "I might know of a job that could hire you on the spot." She said. Her words rung through my ears and filled my head with hope. I sprung to life and put all my attention on twilight.

"Are you serious, you can get me a job like… today?" I asked hopefully.

"Well, yes I suppose… but, you might not like It." she said.

"Twilight I honestly don't care, I need a job and if it's a job that'll pay me then I'll gladly take it." I said honestly.

"Well, alright then, I guess we should head over then, if you're ready that is." Twilight said. I vigorously agreed and we both got ourselves ready to head on over to this job twilight was mentioning. As we left the apartment I closed the door behind me and locked it shut and we started to make our way down the long overhang to the stairs. Everything outside was completely covered in ice and slippery as fuck. We began making our way to the stairs down to ground level as a cold breeze blew through the air. I walked over to the stairs and took the first step and on the stairs and all I remember was that suddenly I jerked forward a bit and there was no longer any ground under my feet. Everything after that was a blur but suddenly I found myself at the bottom of the stairs with a splitting headache and pain on various spots on my body. "ZACK!" shouted twilight who I assumed was now rushing over to me. Everything was a bit of a blur but I managed to get my bearings and come to my senses.

"My body… so much pain…" I muttered out.

"Are you alright?" asked twilight looming over me now. She looked at me with her big purple eyes.

"ugh… I guess…" I said.

"are you really though?"

"No… not really." I said. "But I'll walk it off, we should keep going."

"Are you sure… that was one hell of a fall."

"I don't remember any of it, all I know is that my head hurts." I said.

"You should really be more careful." Said twilight.

"Yeah… I will." I said. "C'mon lets go." I got back up and brushed some of the snow off me. Me and twilight began walking down the frost and ice covered roads heading towards...well, wherever. Twilight didn't tell me where we were going, but I was a bit too excited to ask. I wasn't overly excited, but it did feel good to know that I have a solid chance now. I don't want to leave this town, it's become too much like home and I couldn't bear leaving it behind, even after I just made a friend... And actual friend. A living, breathing, being that actually enjoys being with me and doesn't hate my guts with a passion. I could help but keep a subtle smile on my face as we kept making our way down the road. I had noticed that twilight wasn't as excited as I was, in fact she seemed rather worried about something. Soon enough though we had taken a sudden right down the road. Before me was a large path covered in snow surrounded by acres and acres of dead trees. Above was a sign that read "sweat apple acres"

"Is this the place?" I asked.

"Yeah this is it." Said twilight.

"Farm work isn't the most glamorous job ever, but it sure beats unemployment." I said.

"Yeah, I'm sure it does... C'mon, let's go." She said walking forward. I followed her and we began making our way down the snow covered path. As we kept walking and trees swung by us a large red barn soon came into view. As well as sheep pens, chicken coups, and even a large red farmhouse too. This place was a real barnyard. We kept walking and made our way down the path and eventually to the farmhouse. Twilight walked up to the door and knocked on it. There was a voice coming from inside that said something, but I couldn't make out the words. Soon I could hear hoofsteps and soon the top half of the door creaked open and an orange pony with blonde hair and a cowboy hat stuck her head out.

"Oh, evenin' twilight..." Said the pony. "Wait a cotton pickin' second... What are y'all doing 'ere with him?" Asked the pony looking over to me and then back at twilight.

"Applejack I need a huge favor." Said twilight. "I need you to give sack the job opening you've been looking for." Said twilight.

"Ain't no way In hell that's gonna happen." Said applejack.

"Please applejack." Said twilight. "You know as well as I that humans are hard workers, and he won't get into any trouble." She said. "C'mon, please?"

"Why should I?" She asked.

"Well, it's been a month already... And so far he's the only one who's even bothered to think about the job." Said twilight. Applejack blushed a little from embarrassment and darted her eyes around.

"Sorry twi, but I don't ire thugs and hooligans." Said applejack.

"He's not a thug... C'mon, he's a great guy... You haven't even gotten a chance to know him." Said twilight. "How about this... One day... Give it one day, if you don't like him then you don't have to hire him, but just give him a chance... Trust me, he's not what you think." Applejack looked between the both of us and finally rested her eyes on me for a while. I stared back at her trying not to seem suspicious or shady. I was even starting to sweat from the suspense.

"Alright twilight, I trust ya... One day, and we'll see." She said. Twilight let out a sigh of relieve, as well did I.

"Thank you applejack." Said twilight. "I promise that he'll work hard and won't cause trouble." She said. Applejack walked out from her house and closed the door behind her. She let out a depressed sigh and looked over me.

"Alright... Uh, kid." She said forgetting my name already. "Take off yer sweater for a sec." I did as she asked not wanting to make her upset. I took it off and I was wearing a short sleeved shirt underneath. The bitter cold brushed up against my arms and I shivered slightly. She looked over me and circled around me checking me up and down. "Well, he ain't the scrawniest person I ever did see... But he ain't much for heavy liftin, which is fine i s'pose." One she was done I quickly put my sweater back on and zipped it up.

"I'll be going then... I hope everything turns out well." Said twilight. She smiled and waved goodbye and I did too. She started making her way back through the path and soon it was just me and applejack. We stood there awkwardly until I decided to say something.

"So...uh, what's first then?" I asked.

"First we go over the rule..." She said. I shut my mouth and listened closely. "First, you're to git her ass over 'ere by seven every morning, once her here I'll give you a list of things that need doing then you get to work." She said. "You don't take a break unless I tell ya too, and ya don't go home until everything's done, and it's done right. Ya understand? She asked

"Uh, y-yes ma'am." I said.

"But that's only if I'm willing ta give ya the job... Got it?"

"Yes..." I said.

"Righty then... First up is firewood." She said. "Follow me." She said walking towards the barn. I followed her into the barn and we walked in together. She lead me over to a large stump of the ground with an axe buried in it. She walked then over to a large pile of logs that had been stances up against the wall of the barn. She grabbed one and placed it on the large stump standing up and grabbed the axe. She lifted the axe up and swung it down hard on the log and it split right into two pieces. The grabbed one of the two pieces and repeated the process. "Got it?" She asked like she had just explained everything by performing it.

"Uh yeah..." I said.

"I want you to cut at least twenty of these logs into pieces of four. Then once your done carry them over to the pallets by the house and stack them up and put the tarp over them." She said. "Once your done grab a shovel from over there and come help me shovel the pathways."

"Alright..." I said grabbing the axe she placed down and grabbing the other half o the log she had split.

"And that log doesn't count." She said grabbing a shovel and waking out. Once she was gone and I was all alone I let out a sigh of relief. I finished the log she started and grabbed a new one and placed it on the large stump. She seemed pretty upset with me for no real reason. Then again, that's how most people and ponies are toward me. I just let it go and raised the axe up high. I swung down on the piece of wood and hit it a bit off centered. The axe slipped out of my hands and a piece of wood splintered off and flew at me. It hit me and stabbed me in the shoulder. I let out a small grunt of pain and shouted out a curse or two, but quieted myself. I checked the damage and it wasn't that bad, it just hurt a lot. I pulled the rather large splinter from my body and tossed it away. I started to bleed but only slightly, it would heal in no time. I grabbed the axe again and set the log back up. I held the axe up high but trie to center it this time. I swung the axe down and luckily for me I hit it dead in the middle and it split in two. I kept doing what applejack was doing and split each log into fours.

It wasn't until five logs later that I had started to feel my arms getting tired, but I didn't quit. I stopped for a minute and stretched my arms which helped out a lot. After that I kept on swinging and cutting down the logs. It was a bit rough at first, a few misses and off centered hits, but I soon got used to it and was beginning to split logs like a pro. Once I had finally cut down twenty logs I placed the axe down and let out a deep breath. Now I had to carry them to the house, which wasn't too far. So I leaned down and grabbed several pieces of wood in my arms and started carrying them out of the barn to the house. Once I was out there he old hit me again and I shivered slightly. I looked around and a good proportion of the snow around the house was shoveled away and I could see applejack not too far away shoveling away more with the shovel in her teeth. She looked over at me and I looked at her but she quickly looked away as if she was ignoring me. I just casually looked away and waked to the pallets by the side of the house and placed down the pieces of wood. Once that was done I turned around and headed back into the barn for more.

The time it took to cut down all that wood and the time it took to carry the pieces to the pallets by her house was roughly around an hour and a half. Every time I left the barn there was just a little more path visible than before. Whenever I looked at her I would catch her giving me a strange glare and then turning away. I walked back tot he barn one last time and grabbed the shovel she pointed out before and then left. I made my way across the large dirt circle in front of her house and soon walked up beside her.

"Yer done already?" She asked.

"Yep, twenty logs, all cut into four pieces and then placed on the pallets by the side of the house." I said.

"Huh... Well, good job I s'pose." She said. "What's wrong with yer shoulder?" She had noticed that I was rubbing it since it was sore now.

"Uh, nothing much." I said. "I hit one of the logs funny and I splinter shot off and got me in the shoulder... I'll be fine, it was a while ago." I said. "It's just sore."

"Well... Be more carefull, I'm not responsible for anything that happens to you here, got that?" She asked in a very stubborn voice, but I could tell that she cared somewhat. "Anyway... Let's get to it, we got shoveling to do." She said. I soon got to shoveling and we started to make our way around and down the path shoveling away the snow and clearing out the path. The snow was wet and heavy, as well as frozen over the top, so shoveling was not an easy task. I was reaching that strange feeling where I've started to freeze inside of my sweater but it's too cold to take it off. Me and applejack shoveled away in silence, and I decided to try and break the ice.

"So, uh... Did you get through the storm alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, we survived." Said applejack.

"We?"

"Ah share this farm with my brother Big Mac, my little sis applebloom, and mah Granny Smith." She said.

"That's good." I said.

"Applebloom's at school right now, Big Macs out in town shovelin' the roads." She said. "Granny's inside."

"Did you loose power at all?" I asked.

"The farm doesn't run on much power, just enough to get by the new fancy machines we got, I'm sure that we did, but I haven't noticed. We keep the house warm by lighting fires and lighting candles."

"I ended up loosing power last yesterday, that means I didn't get any heat... So my apartment isn't much colder than the weather outside." I said.

"Sounds rough." Added applejack.

"I'll be fine. Power came back and the heats already kicked on, I'm sure it'll be much warmer by the time were done and I get home."

"Hopefully." She said quietly as she turned away. I gazed at her for a second but went back to shoveling. Once we finished shoveling we started heading back, I was excited to be done with shoveling, until applejack told me there was a second path connecting to the east side of town. Once she told me I let out a devastated groan and I managed to catch her smile. She reassured me that it wouldn't be as bad, even though the path was longer it was also thinner, so we could breeze through it. We started on the path and soon enough we had already made our way into it. I could feel applejack starting to warm up to me a little bit, and I didn't particularly hate her, even though she did say some things to me while back when I first met twilight, but the past is the past.

"Hey applejack?" I asked catching her attention.

"Yeah?" She inquired.

"Uh..." I wanted to ask her something, but I figured that maybe it was a bit soon. "Uh... Never mind, it's nothing." I said.

"Uh... Alright then, we'd better watch ourselves, these hills here are kinda steep, more snow could fall down if we ain't careful." Said applejack pointing out the hills. I looked around and did notice that there were steep hills up ahead, very large and steep hills. As we continued to shovel through we soon found ourselves in this crux of the two steep hills and everything was deathly silent. I stuck my shovel into the ground and tossed the snow off to the side. The impact of the snow I threw caused more snow in the steep hill to crumble down and cover the spot that I had just dug.

"Are you kidding me?" I said annoyed. Applejack started laughing. She lunged her shovel into the ground as she laughed and the disturbance caused snow behind her to make a small avalanche down and it waved past her and the pushing force of the snow caused her to fall into the snow. I now started to laugh as well, a bit more louder than applejack a laughter. I she got back up and brushed herself off and I thought she would be mad, but she started to laugh too and we both laughed together. Soon a loud rumble overtook our laughter and we both stopped.

"Oh my..." Said applejack.

"That doesn't sound good." I said. Soon enough snow from both sides of the large hills started to fall down all around us and we were caught in a double sided avalanche. I was soon washed over on all sides by snow and eventually completely buried. Once the rumbling was done I opened my eyes to find myself completely buried in snow now. I thrashed around and threw my arms everywhere and tried to unbury myself. The snow was piled high above me. Even when I stand, so I'm going to have to dig forward until I find something. So I started digging and it wasn't long until I broke out of the snow and fell over the large mound of snow that had now accumulated the entirety of the valley we had been in. I let out a deep sigh and laughed a bit more. I looked back at the large mass of snow and noticed that applejack wasn't coming out. I started to panic again and quickly tried scaling the mountain of snow.

I began shoveling out the snow with my bare hands and threw large chunks of snow to the left and right. I started digging in the vicinity of where me and applejack were and kept shoveling away with my bare hands. I started shoving my arms deep into the snow trying to see if I could feel her that way, but it was hard when I myself was starting to sink into the loosely packed snow. I had to keep myself up while searching for her. My fingers were numb, completely numb and were turning an off shade of reddish purple. I drove my arm back into the snow once more and it stopped short once I had hit something soft and fuzzy. I knew it was her and immediately began digging and throwing snow out of the way. Soon shades of orange started appearing past the white snow, and once there was enough snow off of her I drove both hands in and grabbed her. I tried pulling her out but it wasn't easy since I kept sinking into the snow.

I kept pulling and she got closer and closer to the surface. Finally after one fierce tug I pulled her right out and fell back. I tumbled out of the loosely packed mountain of snow and fell right back down to the ground we had shoveled. I was covered in snow. It had gotten into my sweater and down my pants and stung my skin. I couldn't feel my face or my hands at all. My nose was dripping and I was sure to get a cold from this, at the least. I just hope I don't get frostbite or something else like hypothermia. I hope applejack I fine too. I looked over to her and she had her eyes closed tightly like she was cold. She laid on her back against the pile of snow. I laid on my face with snow enveloping my legs. I moaned and picked myself up. I looked over to see that applejack was fine as she had started to open her eyes.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Y-you dug me out." She said somewhat surprised.

"Yeah. If course... I couldn't let you freeze in there." I said.

"Thank you kindly..." She said. "How's about we call it a day, c'mon, I'll let you into my house so y'all can warm up." She said. I looked over at her and smiled.

"Thanks." I said. We returned to applejack a farm house quickly after and I got the chance to meet Granny Smith. She was a very kind old mare, she didn't seem to have a problem with who I was, so we got along well. When she heard what happened she sat us down in front of the fireplace immediately and gave us warm blankets. I had to take my sweater and shirt off since they were soaked, as well as my pants. My underwear were soaked too, but I refused to take those off. Once we were sat down by the fire Granny Smith went off to the kitchen and made us hot cocoa. Once the mood had settled and I was beginning to warm up me and applejack laughed over the whole thing. So there I was, sitting in applejack a house by the fire drinking hot chocolate... In my underwear.

"Don't worry about your clothes." Said applejack. "Give them a few minutes by the fire and I'm sure they'll warm up and dry." She said. She had a huge fireplace with which my clothes were hanging In front of.

"I hope so..." I said. "I can't really leave until they're dry, I sure as hell won't make it back home in just my underwear." I said. We sat there for a second and I felt a sneeze welling up inside. I started taking in a deep breath and let out a loud sneeze making sure to cover my mouth. "Ah...crap." I said.

"Ha, I was wondering when y'all were gonna sneeze." Said applejack laughing. She laughed at me until she sneezed as well and even louder than me. She was silent for a second but I had started laughing, and she joined in too.

"So that's all the work for today?" I asked after the laughter died down.

"I suppose so." Said applejack. "I'm gonna need your help tomorrow to clear out all that snow, I'll have to get Big Mac out here too to help shovel it all away."

"So does that mean I got the job?" I asked.

"Yes... It means you got the job." Said applejack rolling her eyes.

"YES!" I said excitedly doing a quick fist pump. Suddenly behind us the door opened up and me and applejack looked back to see who it was. Just then a little yellow filly walked in through the door. She had ginger red hair and a large bow holding it up.

"Sis ahm home!" She shouted gleefully. When she noticed us at the fire she looked over curiously. "Hey sis. Why is there a human sitting in our livingroom... And why's he naked?" She asked a little embarrassed. I quickly blushed in embrassment knowing very well that I was only wearing boxers, mildly damp boxers at that, so they were very uncomfortable.

"This is zack... He's the new farmboy." Said applejack. "He'll be commin 'round a bit ta help out at the farm."

"That's great and all... But why's he naked?"

"My, uh... Clothes got wet from the snow... So they're drying... That's them there." I said pointing to them.

"Ah... I get it." She said waking over past me to my clothes. "So these is human clothes huh? Wow, they're really big." She said looking over them.

"I suppose they are." I said.

"Hey sis, how come humans need to wear clothes all the time but us ponies don't?" She asked. I suddenly started to blush a bit from the question, and so did applejack.

"Applebloom, what did I tell ya 'bout asking dumb questions?" Scolded applejack.

" but it ain't a dumb question... I wanna know." She said.

"I'll let you know when you're older." Said applejack.

"Why do I have to be older?"

"What's that Granny Smith... What? You made applebloom some hot chocolate, how nice." She said. I was confused at first but I could see what she was doing. Suddenly Applebloom's ears perked up and she smiled. Her attention completely shifted away from us and towards the kitchen and she let out an excited gasp.

"Hot chocolate!" She said excitedly running into the kitchen.

"Nice one..." I said smiling. We both laughed quietly.

"She gets distracted easily, but when she is concentrated on something it's like she can't take her mind off it." Said applejack. "She and her two friends..."

"She seems like a handful." I said.

"She can be, but she's the cutest darn thing ever. And she's mah sister... So I gotta love her." Said applejack.

"Must be nice having a sister, or a sibling at any rate." I said.

"It has its ups and it's downs. Y'all got a brother,p or sister?" Asked applejack.

"Are you kidding me? Equestria can only handle one half pony, half human demon spawn... I'm sure the whole world would explode is there were another like me."

"Well... I don't really think you're that bad." She said. "You've got your flaws, but I think... Well I guess I owe you some what of an apology." She said seeming a bit guilty. "I've had ya pinned the wrong way from the start. It's like what twilight always says... You can't judge a book by its bindings."

"Cover..."

"Yeah cover... You can't judge a book by its cover." She said fixing her analogy.

"Thanks... That means a lot." I said. "So does that mean we're friends...?" I asked with a smile. She looked and giggled slightly.

"Yeah, were friends." She said holding out her hoof. I grabbed her hoof and we shook...uh... Appendages. "Y'all are welcome here whenever you want, it doesn't just need to be for work. Once this bitter weather goes away and the spring comes 'round this place'l be more lively than caffeinated beehive." She said.

"I'll be sure to drop by when I'm in the neighborhood." I said. Come to think of it, this place isn't at all very far from my apartment.

"Maybe I can introduce you to my other friends too." Said applejack. "You already know twilight, there's also fluttershy, she's a bit shy, then there's pinky pie... She's crazy, but in a good way I s'pose. The. There's rarity, she can be a bit snooty, but she's not too bad... I guess. And then there's rainbow dash."

"Wait... Rainbow dash?" I asked.

"Ye seri, best darn flyer in all of Equestria, so she says... But I have to give her credit, she'd give the wonder bolts a run for their money. She's very reliable and loyal, but can get a big head almost all the time."she said. She started to giggle a bit.

"I've... Uh... I know, I've uh... Met her before." I said with a guilty conscious.

"Oh really? How'd that turn out?" She asked seeming somewhat pessimistic.

"Well... It didn't turn out too well." I said. "I was at twilights house, uh... Then she came in, said a few harsh things...and, well... I uh." I started freezing up and stammering.

"Wait a cotton pickin second..." She said. "Don't tell me you're the 'big oak tree' that she flew into during her morning practice. The one that broke her snout." Said applejack seeming somewhat entertained. "Was that you. Did y'all bust up her snout?" She asked.

"Well... Yeah." I said preparing for the worst.

"That's the funniest darn thing I've ever heard." She said.

"Huh?" I said.

"Dashie prides herself in being better at everything than anypony, and she doesn't like humans all too well, her ego would never let her tell the truth... That you broke her snout." She said.

"You aren't mad?" I asked.

"No particularly... I suppose she probably deserved it, you have to tell me what happened; she said some stuff to you... And you hit her in the face."

"Well... Yeah." I said lightening up a bit. "She was talking crap about my parents, and I guess I lost it and punched her square in the snout. I literally hit her right out of the air." Applejack just started laughing.

"Well, maybe I can introduce you to some other friends." Said applejack.

"Ha, yeah… maybe." I said smiling and taking another sip of the hot cocoa I had been given earlier. It was nice and warm, but not scalding hot. Me and applejack sat in front of the fire for a little while making small talk. It wasn't too long before I checked my clothes hanging up and they were completely dry. "Hey, my clothes have dried off now." I said.

"Good, you should probably get changed then." said applejack.

"Yeah, do you think I could use your bathroom to change in?" I asked.

"Why, can't you just change right here?" she asked.

"B-b-but, right here!? With you sitting right there!?" I stammered out.

"Golly, you humans sure are a sensitive bunch when it comes to these things." Said applejack.

"W-well…" I said stopping to make sure we were to only ones within earshot. "Well I'm not a pony… I can't… uh, hide it." I said blushing. "It just kinda hangs out there."

"You've been sitting in those underwear of yours for a good hour now." She said. I let out a begrudgeoning sigh and stood up.

"Fine…" I said. I quickly grabbed my jeans and threw them on in less than a couple seconds. I zipped up the fly and buttoned them up. Then I grabbed my shirt and tossed that on too, then my hoodie. It was all comfortably dry and I sat back down and let out a sigh. "At least that's over with." I said to myself. I placed my hands in my coat pockets and felt something soft and wet touch my hand. I quickly pulled out what it was and saw that it was my soaking wet carton of cigarettes. "AH…shit."

"Y'all smoke?"

"Yeah, is it really that hard to believe a guy with my lifestyle would resort to this?" I asked.

"I suppose not." Said applejack.

"Damn, just seeing them makes me feel like I need a smoke." I said. "These damn things aren't cheap either… ah well, nothing worth crying over I suppose." I looked at the pack of smokes and just tossed it back into my pocket deciding that I would dispose of them at home. When I went back into my pocket I felt around for my lighter. I couldn't find it so I checked my other pocket. I rummaged around and soon found it. I pulled it out and gave it a look over. I tried lighting it, but it was no use.

"Is that busted too?" asked applejack.

"Yeah, it probably got soaked and water must have leaked into the spark wheel now it won't light worth a damn." I said. "At least these things are a dime a dozen, so that's not much of a problem… and… I do have a new job now." I said gleaming over to applejack who was busy rolling her eyes.

"Glad ta know that I'm supportin' yer bad habits." We both laughed and then a sudden silence washed over the room. The crackling of the fire filled the air as warmth radiated from the glowing flames. The silence didn't seem too awkward, but I felt like there was nothing else to say. "Well, I suppose y'all better get home now, I'm sure you're might tired."

"Yeah, taking a shower and then getting some rest does sound pretty good right about now actually." I said. Me and applejack walked over to her front door and I opened it up.

"Alright zack, take care. And remember, be here by seven tomorrow." Said applejack as I was heading out the door and she stood by it holding it open and waving goodbye. I too waved to her goodbye and smiled as I left. She closed the door and went back inside and I made my way off the farm. I put my hood up and soon I was walking down the large trail to south ponyville. I had been making my way home now from applejacks farm, my underwear were still somewhat damp and uncomfortable, so I'll have to change them when I get back home, and I think a nice hot shower would be great too. As I was walking home I did get a tingling feeling down my spine when I walked past the street where the drug store I worked at stood. I stopped there for a second and decided that I wanted to see the place. So I made a right and started walking down the street. There weren't many ponies or people outside, the weather was a bit too frightful for a daytime walk. As I walked down the street I did get a glimpse of the old abandoned factory building. I knew that was where all the thugs and drug dealers hung out. It was like the official meeting place for all the scum in ponyville, makes me somewhat sick that I used to be part of that disgusting mass. And speak of the devil...

"Well if it ain't our favorite freak." Said a voice from a dark alleyway. I looked over to see a man and a pony. The man was my height, blonde hair and a rolled up smoke in his mouth, probably weed. The pony was a brown furred pony with ginger hair. He smiled at me with a devious smile. "Didn't you used to work at that shit shop." Said the man pulling the blunt out of his mouth and pointing to the ruins across the street. I looked back and saw the crushed corner store I used to work at. It had been completely caved it, the whole mess was covered in snow, and the scattered remnants of products and building scattered the ground.

"Yeah what of it?" I asked.

"Kinda sad ain't it... Now you got nowhere else to go... But..."

"Forget about it..." I said angrily.

"C'mon Zack, you used to be pretty good at wheeling and dealing." Said the pony. The two guys in front of me were old drug dealing comrades of mine. Like I said before, I've got a bit of a dark past.

"I'm not like that anymore." I said. "I've already found somewhere else to work."

"You always did work fast." Said the pony.

"Well, if you ever need a fix... Or if things don't turn out well, were still like family man...still like family." Said the man taking another hit of his blunt and rolling his red eyes. I don't really see these people as my family, but I do strangely have some respect for them, they did take me in when I was alone, they didn't give me a place to rest, or food... But they did let me join them, and at that time it was all I needed.

"Do you even remember why Donnie let you join?" Asked the pony.

"Yeah... It's because I'm a freak, and people are afraid of freaks." I said. "More fear equals more control, and more control..."

"Means more money for our pockets." Finished the man completely stoned. He took the blunt out of his mouth and started laughing.

"Have the two of you been waiting here all day for me?" I asked.

"More or less." Said the pony. "We know that you used to work there, when the place crashed, Donnie thought it would be the perfect chance to bring you back into the family."

"Well, tell Donnie that I decline."I said.

"Respectfully, or violently decline." Asked the man.

"Neither." I said.

"C'mon Zack, you were a good man, Donnie thought of you as his right hand man... You could have gone far." Said the pony. "Why'd ya do it Zack, what went through that head of yours that made you leave?"

"I don't know..." I said. "I guess you could call it some kind of bad trip... I'm not sure why, but it decided one day that I'd go straight... And I don't regret it."

"Is that so...?" Said the man.

"That is so." I replied. I stared at the both of them and they glared back at me for a short time before both of them turned around and started walking back down the alleyway.

"Well, fine then..." Said the pony as they both walked away. The man held his hand up to wave goodbye with his blunt stuck between two fingers.

"Remember Zack, if you ever need anything... Then you know where to find it." Said the man before they walked in through one of the doors to the old factory building that was in the alleyway. I kept my eyes on the alleyway before turning back and looking at the ruins of the old corner store.

"Zack? Is that you?" Asked a female voice to the side of me. I looked over to find that it was blue moon standing there wearing a scarf and boots. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." I said.

"I'm here to see the shop... Who were you talking to?" She asked seeming very curious. She glared at me and I just looked at her.

"Nobody... Just an old ghost." I said glaring at her. We stared at each other in silence for a few seconds but I turned and left. I started walking away and didn't look back. I had this strange feeling in the back of my head that she wanted to yell out to me, but i never heard anything. I rounded the corner and started heading back home to my apartment. I began making my way down the road which had now finally been shoveled and was covered in a thin patted down layer of snow and ice. I kept walked forward with my head down and my hands in my pockets. My apartment building soon came into view and I cut into the open space in front of the building. I walked past the chain link fence and walked over to the stairs leading to the second story apartments. I walked up the stairs, carefully this time, and reached the top. I walked four doors down to my own apartment and fumbled around my pants pocket for my keys. I pulled them out and unlocked the door. I put the keys back in my pocket and walked in locking the door once again behind me. It was now much warmer in here, and I could finally relax.

The first thing I did was throw off all my clothes after emptying my pockets and went to the bathroom. I took a long hot shower and warmed myself up. I finally got out and dried off with a towel. I opened up the door to the bathroom and steam spilled out of the room. I walked into my bedroom and got redressed and threw my towel on the ground. I looked at the cluttered mess of clothing on the ground and figured that I might as well do the laundry. I walked over to my closet and pulled out the old plastic laundry basket it kept in there. I filled it with my clothes and they piled up a bit. I picked it up and started carrying it to my door. Since I live in an apartment complex I have to go down to the laundry room and pay a bit to do the damn laundry and then another bit to dry it. I let out a sigh and started making my way out.

I carried my clothing down the stairs and all the way to the end of the building and into the laundry room. In that room were three washing machines and three dryers, each with a little bill slot for a one dollar bit. I placed my clothing down on one of the benches and noticed that one of the machines was already running. Then it occurred to me that there was another woman here. She was sitting in the bench waiting for her clothes to finish washing. I walked over to one of the machines and poured in all my clothes in and paid the machine to start it. Since I don't really add bleach I don't have to worry about mixing the whites and colors, so I just let them wash in soap and water then dry them. I put the basket down by the machine and sat down on the bench. In this neighborhood you need to stay by your clothes so nobody steals them. The bench was very lengthy and I sat down at the end across from the other woman. I looked over to her and tried to see if I knew her.

Since she was using these washing machines that must mean that she lives in one of these apartments. I don't really know her too well, but her face is familiar, so I'm sure that I've seen her before. She was sitting on the bench with a hoodie on and a magazine in her hands. It was a cosmopolitan; she was deeply buried into it and didn't even seem to notice my existence. Her hazel eyes darted through the pages and she brought a hand up to brush her long brunette hair out of her face. She had another basket if clean clothe next to her and they were already neatly folded. Judging the sizes and styles of some of the clothes I can guess that she probably has children, a boy and girl at the least. She even did look like a mother... At least, she would if she wasn't wearing tons of makeup. The outlines of her eyes were covered in shadow and she was wearing a really deep shade of red lipstick. She had really dangly earring and I could see that she was wearing a dress and heals under her hoodie. She wore lots of expensive looking jewelry, and her body wasn't too bad either, then it hit me who she was.

She was the prostitute that lives three doors past me. I've seen her dragging men into her apartment for a few years now, she never fails to drag at least two men in with her every week. It makes sense that she has kids, but there certainly isn't enough room in this apartment complex for a family, and I've never seen kids running around here. I was very confused as to why she had kids clothes so I decided to speak up and see if I couldn't get an answer.

"You got kids?" I asked looking over to her. I managed to get her attention and she shot her head over like she was shocked to notice me. She seemed a bit surprised but then she managed to bring a smile across her face.

"Oh, no... I don't." She said.

"I was just wondering, I saw the clothes you had folded up." I said pointing to the basket of folded up clothes.

"Oh no... These aren't my clothes, I'm just doing a favor for a friend and doing her laundry... She's the one with the kids not me...my lifestyle isn't suited for children." She said.

"Yeah, makes sense..." I said.

"What does that mean?" She asked somewhat offended.

"Well I was just confused since I knew that you live three doors down from me, and I was wondering how a person could even fit kids into an apartment like this." I said.

"Oh, that's what you meant... Yeah, yeah that makes sense." She said seeming somewhat embarrassed. We sat there in silence again and suddenly one of the machines dinged and stopped washing. I knew that it was her machine and soon enough she got up and walked over to the washing machine and opened it up. She pulled out a bunch of soaking wet clothes and carried them over to the dryer and stuffed them in. She went back and grabbed the rest and stuffed them in too. She closed it and fed the machine a bit and pressed the button. It whirred to life and started tumbling and drying the clothes. She walked back over and sat down on the bench. She picked her magazine back up and continued where she left off. She kept reading but then she put the magazine back down and looked over to me.

"So you live in this complex too huh..." She said.

"Yep... Been here for a couple years." I said. "Working hard so that I can stay alive."

"I know what that's like." She said. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No, not yet... Probably won't for a while." I said.

"My, it must get lonely." She said. "How's about I give you a little company tonight." She said. I smiled and chuckled a bit and then turned over and looked at her.

"I don't think I can afford that." I said.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I know the kind of lifestyle you live." I said. "Live been in the underworld of ponyville before, I know the types of people when I see them, and I know your type." I said. "No thank you, I don't need company."

"I bet you think I'm just some whore... Another piece of meat, right?" She asked.

"Of course not." I said. "I just think that you're unlucky... We gotta do what we gotta do to survive. There ain't to rest for the wicked... That's what I always say."

"You know kid... Your alright." She said. "My names Noel... Noel scarlet. My friends just call me Noel, the guys call me scarlet."

"Well... Noel...my names Zachary Miles, you've probably heard of me."

"Yeah, I know that name... Aren't you the kid who had a human mother but a unicorn father..." She said.

"That's me..."

"That's some freaky shit..." She said. "But you've got my respect. Takes some serious balls to admit to something like that."

"I suppose... But I can't really complain." I said. "I might be a freak, and most people and ponies turn me away without second thought... But I have started to make friends." I said, just then the washing machine I had put my clothes into dinged and stopped spinning and making noise.

"well that's good…" she said as I walked over to the machine and grabbed a pile of soaking wet clothes and carried them over to one of the dryers. "You know, it's always good to have good friends." She said as I made a second trip to the dryer. I put all my clothes in and paid the machine and pushed the start button. The machine came to life and started drying my clothes.

"I do have to admit… it is nice to have actual friends instead of a bunch of people who just put up with my existence." I said.

"Oh… not very social are we." Said noel. "You said that you've been in the underworld… you one of Donnie's boys?"

"No…" I said. "At least… not any more. I used to be, a few years back… I got involved when I was 18, but I left peacefully. It's actually kinda funny." I said starting to chuckle to myself.

"Oh is really?" asked scarlet. "What exactly is so funny?"

"I actually just ran into a couple of old thugs from the gang… they were in an alleyway, wanted to know if I was gonna jump back into the business due to the fact that the corner store I work at has just caved in and I was screwed out of a job this morning." I said.

"Oh, you worked at that little store… I'd go there sometimes and grab some smokes or something else, I did hear that I caved in, that's awful." She said. Just then her drying machine dinged and stopped tumbling her clothes. "Oh, that's my load." She said. She got up and walked over with her high heels on and a basket in both hands. She put the basket on the ground and opened up the dryer. She took all the clothes out and put them back in the basket and walked towards the door. "I hope things turn out well for ya sweetie." She said holding the door open with her hip. "if you ever need help, you know where I am, I may not seem like it but I'm a very sensible woman with a lot of connections… and remember… my previous offer still stands." She said with a smile. "If you ever get lonely, or the nights are a bit cold… just drop on by and I'll treat you right." She said giving me a playful wink and then leaving outside and going back to her apartment. When she left I couldn't help but laugh quietly to myself.

I was all alone now, sitting in this big empty room by myself with the dryer tumbling and whirring behind me. I didn't have anything to do really except sit here with my thoughts. Noel had left the cosmopolitan behind which I'm sure isn't really hers, but nonetheless I'm not really interested in reading the Cosmo. I sat there patiently for a good few minutes and waited for my clothes to finish drying, when the machine finally dinged and I walked over with the basket and just pilled all of my clothes into it. I grabbed the basket and left the room as well. I walked across the yard and over to the staircase going up. I walked up carefully and made my way to my apartment. I unlocked the door and opened it up. I glanced down the hall to the third door down and stared at it for a second before walking into my apartment and closing the door behind me. I locked it and made my way into my room with the basket of clothes. I don't ever really bother folding my clothes; I just throw them in the right drawer and leave them alone. Once the clothes were away I tossed the basket into the corner of my room and left to go into the living room. I sat down on the couch and grabbed the remote on the coffee table.

I switched on the TV and went surfing to see if there was anything interesting on. I came across an action movie playing on one of the channels and decided to waste my time with that. I managed to catch it around the beginning and it lasted a good hour and a half. Once that was over I checked the time and it was only around five. I flicked through some more channels for anything else to watch and there were a few good things. I think I would decide to brighten up my day by watching something on the comedy channel. When I flicked to the channel there was a standup comedian on, it was about halfway in when I came to, so I was in the middle of one of his skits. I watched the whole thing, but I didn't laugh. Even though the jokes were funny and the audience laughed as well, I couldn't bring myself to even crack a smile. It was only a minute into the skit when he mentioned weed and my mind suddenly trailed off to my past, and the time I spent working under Donnie.

I shook the thoughts from my head and quickly flicked to something else. Once seven o'clock had rolled around my stomach started to growl and I made my way to the kitchen. I grabbed a microwave lunch and heated it up. Once it was done I grabbed it along with a fork from the dishwasher which I still have yet to empty. I walked out into the living room and sat down with my dinner and watched TV. The rest of the day wasn't any more exciting than that. Once it started getting late I headed to my bedroom and went to sleep. I lay down in my bed and rested my head on the pillow as I closed my eyes and started to drift away. It was the end of an unexpectedly good day. I've not only found a better job, but I've made two new friends. I still couldn't shake the thought of those two thugs from earlier. I know that they won't cause me any trouble, but I still can't help but shake a strange feeling.

I just hope my past doesn't come up and bite me in the ass…

**Authors Note: **well, i did it... i finally did it, i finished another chapter of unforgiven... and its about time. I've really been focused on reborn at the moment so forgive me if the chapter production for this story and the others is cut short if not already reduced to a grinding halt. i really need to get reborn out of the way then i an finally rest in peace. but i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and i think that now we're going to start delving a little deeper into Zack's dark past, and see if he can still manage to keep his friends along the way... and even make more. things are starting to look up however, until the next time.

_-Stay Shady~_


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